


Seal Guardians: Zericon Files

by DevonTomatoCat



Series: Seal Guardians [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Agent, Amnesia, Anxiety, Creatures, Fantasy, Forsaken Islands, Gems, Gen, Islands, Long Hair, Magic, Monsters, Romance, Sci-Fi, Stress, Team, Tension, Veilguard, Video Game, Weapons, Zericon, dark skin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-01-22 02:30:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 35
Words: 87,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21293543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DevonTomatoCat/pseuds/DevonTomatoCat
Summary: Seal Guardians is a story inspired by an unmade idea for a video game from the writer. Taking the same concept and spinning it in a new angle, this work found life as a written story instead, with new characters, a more complex plot, and uniquely original characters.In another world cast in the shadow of reality, not all things are the same, or equal. Imagination rules where science and faith fall. The mysteries of the impossible weigh on the world like a shadow. Over across the sea, in a place called the Forsaken Islands, magic is alive and well. Equipped with gloves and magic stones, a new generation seeks to harness the power of the ancient past and uncover the mystery of the Seal Guardians. This is where it all begins.Unexpectedly thrust into a world beyond his understanding, Raza Kulan faces the ultimate challenge as life asks him who exactly he is in the midst of chaos, anarchy, battle, and the throes of temptation. A million faces watch his every move. Who to trust and where to turn is no easy task with so many questions and so few answers. The world is hungry to swallow him whole, and keeping hold of his identity is no easy task. The mighty Zericon organisation never asks for mercy.
Series: Seal Guardians [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1535021
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. Dawned The Day

Life loved to be complicated. Every echo gave more than its own presence. If rumour gave life they stole more than their worth as well. Ripples formed waves that could shape oceans. More often than not the collective sea of waves stifled more than most ripples. If there is an end in the still, quiet calm, it may be impossible to tell if the single and the whole are anything less than the same.

The known world had no place for a collection of wayward little islands thrown out into the watery abyss on the edge of… probably literally nowhere. Nevertheless it seemed to do well enough where it was. Nobody complained. Then again it might be hard with nobody to listen.

Maybe some of that had to do with the fact that those little islands were more or less abandoned. At least, they had been. The discovery of mystic ruins full of ancient magic had long since signalled the call for hundreds of researchers, treasure hunters, and opportunists. Time could do a lot. Towns and cities sprawled across the land. Life thrived, even in the middle of nowhere.

_ Hello. _

The Forsaken Islands dotted the sea in a rough circle, one loosely trailing after another, clockwise. They were reasonably a circle, anyway. One or two may have been slightly more over to the side or up a little. They were still a circle for all intents and purposes, all seven.

_ Listen. _

Actually there were eight, but Median Island didn't really count. It was just there in the lower middle, out of place and microscopic compared to the others, warping the bird's eye image into some sort of depressed eye, or something mildly inappropriate.

_ It is time to become. _

All of that was all fine and well, but it hardly seemed important when there was a gun being pointed at someone's face.

Consciousness snapped to fast and hard, like a whip. Thick tufts of black only barely gave way to the blinding light, pouring through like radiation in the gaps around a metal ring. Light burned. Eyes strained. The barrel of the weapon touched forehead.

'First lesson; you're expendable.' A voice cut through the sombre silence. Pause stole like ice across the counting seconds, smoothing into tense silence.

Suddenly the world took focus as the weapon lifted up and away. A room blurrily took shape. Sight revealed a shock of brown hair rustling ever so slightly. Icy blue eyes locked in hard. Then the figure turned away.

'One move, one mistake, one wrong choice, and you die. Nobody will miss you and nobody will care. You're a soldier now. Childhood is over.'

There was no time to respond. A second voice cut in. 'Where am I?' It sounded female.

There were others. Beyond the figure in the silhouette and light, rows of metal and glass containers lined concrete walls. Shapes vaguely filled each one.

'In the waking room, where else?' A chuckle sounded out. This voice too was new. It was also female.

The one asking the questions stole yearning thoughts yet again. 'The what? I want to go home.'

A flash of crimson hair swayed briefly into view. 'Ugh, newbies. I forgot how completely green they are… and stupid.'

'Enough.' There came the voice with the brown hair and the gun, male and assertive. 'You don't know anything.' For a moment cold eyes locked in view. 'You were in stasis. Whatever you remember, it doesn't matter. You're on Zericon's time now. Playtime's over and this is real life.'

'Did I… get hurt in an accident or something? Where's my team?' There was no shock in the unseen speaker, just numb confusion.

The redhead woman spoke again. 'You've been reassigned. The other half of our team got killed and we need replacements so we were taking you two. You're trained with guardian gloves and combat, right?' The red-haired girl promptly crossed her arms and turned away. 'And… _ you'll be needing clothes_.'

'What?' That word defied his brain. It stole life of its own without input or command. For the first time in this moment and place, he had presence. Raza looked around. He was real? This was real? In the moments up until then the sweet nothingness had claim. He was nothing, he was a dream, in a dream, bodiless and fleeting. Realisation kicked in hard like a steel-toed boot.

Tan hands and fingers pulled free from loosened metal restraints. Raza swept a lock of hair from his face. _ Is this me? _ At last, the world was visible. He studied his body. Along the back of his right forearm letters stood out bold in black. **Z-109919** had been stamped on it. There were in fact clothes, too. A light grey fabric covered his upper arms and torso, tight to the skin. It reached down to his knees. Bare feet were suddenly cold.

Redhead was a good a name as any for the crimson speaker at this point in time. She let out a beleaguered sigh. 'Can't they just for once give us someone who doesn't stop and ask questions for an hour? You were asleep. Now you're back to work. Get a uniform and follow us.' Hard brown eyes watched Raza closely. 'Okay?'

He had no time to respond. 'Okay' said the unseen female, 'but I need to see Deynan.'

'Not right now,' interrupted the one with the gun. 'Get dressed.'

So it was time. He had to move. It wasn't long before Raza discovered the complications of stiff limbs. Fingers and toes were sluggish. Limbs struggled to obey- but they did. The young man moved his way out of the- first the leg restraints, actually. It wasn't just arms. Very quickly the world tilted ninety degrees. A face metal the concrete floor, thankfully with hands to brace it.

Then came the vomit. _ Hello, world. _ Apparently his stomach hadn't gotten used to conscious animation just yet.

The others merely turned away. 'Pathetic,' uttered the gunslinger.

'Ew,' uttered the redhead. 'This one's defective. Can we get a new one?'

Another pair of bare feet stepped out onto the cold floor and winced. His eyes trailed up to see, driven by instinctive curiosity. They were definitely feet, that was a start. Stout, wide legs sat atop them, connected to wider hips. A chubby contour was laid nearly bare in a familiar light grey body suit. Blonde hair draped flat over round cheeks and a strong chin. A stripe of green ran down her forehead and nose, illuminating soft sky blue eyes. She had a number too, judging by the vague snippets of black barely visible on her arm.

'At least this one's upright,' snapped the redhead, eyeing up the other pod person.

The blonde glanced over, then knelt down. 'Don't be cruel, he's suffering from sleep sickness.' A hand reached out for his own. 'Come on.' Those gentle blues welcomed Raza up.

'Thank you,' Raza managed. With a helping lift he got to one knee, then both feet. They would just pretend his hand wasn't covered in puke. When he almost fell over again she put a hand each on his chest and back.

'Better?' The blonde watched carefully. She was nearly a foot shorter.

'Uniforms, now,' commanded Trigger-Happy. He pointed to a metal box affixed on a nearby wall. What resembled a bar code scanner waited patiently.

Thoughts took over. If logic was any helper here it was likely that the code on his arm was the key. Raza forewent instruction and gave it a shot. What was there to lose? With a dissatisfying beep the device opened like a breadbox and revealed a set of clothes. The young man took them and… honestly, just stood there, looking at the mile-long hall full of pods, and people, staring at him.

'I suppose some privacy is-'

'Get dressed,' ordered the gunslinger.

_ Okay then. _ Raza moved aside so blondie could use the magic breadbox, and began the awkward dance of climbing into pants whie standing up.

They were something at least. All one colour, the boots, pants, coat, and helmet were tinted a stony grey-blue. A large black Z was embossed on the top-left of the chest. Raza stared out at the others through a safety visor. One glove covered his left hand. So he was a soldier now. Over to the side the other newcomer had given up on etiquette and resigned herself to rolling and sliding on the floor. Ample breasts jostled as she writhed her way into her skin-tight garments. They at least fit the woman. This time Raza was the one to offer her a helping hand up. So here they were, four strangers in uniform, all standing around.

The blonde broke the ice. 'Last time I was on assignment we were chasing squatters out of the slums. So what's our goal here? How did your teammates get killed?'

'At Highmore,' replied the gunslinger. 'Pushed in.' Surprisingly that information was not totally useless. Highmore was a volcano over on the aptly named Past Island.

'Smugglers?' The blonde girl caught on fast, maybe. She seemed to know a lot. It was best to stand back and listen.

'Right,' said the redhead. 'At least this one works.'

Regardless the brown-haired male was unmoved. 'Let's go.' Already he was off and walking down the hall.

Nobody else seemed willing to share. Evidently that fell onto his shoulders. The swarthy young man turned to the blonde. 'My name is Raza.'

She nodded. 'Bethany. How'd you end up in stasis?'

That was a good question. His memory was not gone, just hazy. It was hard to remember faces and names. Everything was disjointed, like a dream. What stood out? The Z on the uniforms stood for Zericon. All across the islands their security firm had taken root. Law enforcement often fell into their jurisdiction. Cryogenic chambers and flying cars were just commonplace technology. As for himself? Saying "I don't know" sounded like the wrong answer, especially after having a gun in the face. 'I was injured,' replied Raza. You?'

'Complications in delivery- I think. The last I remember I was giving birth to my second child.'

Raza hesitated. 'How old are you?' She looked so young.

'Twenty-three,' said Bethany. A witty smirk crossed her lips. 'How old are you, sixteen?'

'Nineteen.'

Suddenly the redhead cut in. 'That makes you the youngest.' She turned an about-face, walking backwards. 'The name's Karya. I'm twenty-one.' Then she cocked her head toward the gunslinger. Brown locks touched his shoulders. 'That's Valius. He's twenty-five, and your captain. You take orders from him now. We're mobile patrol. We go where we're needed and stop who we're told to stop. Got that?'

'Yes ma'am,' said Bethany.

'Yes,' added Raza.

So this was how it began.


	2. The Way Unspoken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seal Guardians is a story inspired by an unmade idea for a video game from the writer. Taking the same concept and spinning it in a new angle, this work found life as a written story instead, with new characters, a more complex plot, and uniquely original characters.
> 
> Awakened from sleep and now subjected to a team and responsibility, Raza is quickly immersed in the reality of his newfound life.

So this was the world. As Raza stepped out beyond the corridor of cold, unfeeling metal chambers the view widened- not by much, but it was new. More hallways actually stretched out in a T-intersection, all a drab grey. He stepped through the dividing door marked as "Waking Room" and followed his team. Several doors caught his attention. One said "immersion". Another read "Biological Components". Oddly enough in this straightforward maze of halls, marked with coloured arrows and signs, "Shipping (Alternative)" stood out from the rest, considering the context of the room layouts. Nevertheless the group carried on, tailing their newfound leader straight on for what felt like twelve minutes. Evidently this place was big. All the while attempts at conversation were stifled by crushing silence and the soft plodding of cheap boots on moderately soft, blue-collar, office quality brown carpet. When at last they came to a halt they had reached a grander set of doors, this time a dark mahogany, or oak, or whatever wood was dark and expensive-looking.

As Valius raised a hand to push them the doors suddenly boomed opened, seemingly of their own. Then two men walked through from beyond, each in a lab coat and holding a cup of coffee.

'So I asked last night and she said they're real,' said the first.

The second laughed. 'They're not.'

'No, no, she told me they're real.'

'Believe me, they're not. I've seen them.'

And off they went, arguing happily ever after. The four were alone again. Plausibly noble leader Valius walked through the open portal. Then did the team.

Now the world actually opened up. A massive lobby sprawled out for hundreds of feet. Shapes and sizes walked, crawled, slithered, and flew across the expanses of the area, many in the same blue-grey as Raza's uniform. A chequered brown and yellow floor had been laid out piece by piece, each slab uniquely carved from polished stone. Again, the walls were grey, leading up to a large glass dome for a ceiling. Rows of floors led to rows of doors.

The observations were cut short when Valius walked up to a nearby desk and tossed a keycard onto the counter. A receptionist woman nodded and squirrelled it away somewhere.

'Hold on a moment,' she said in a high, nasally voice. Her brown hair had been styled into a bob cut. The woman quickly produced an electronic pad and stylus. 'Names and numbers, please.'

Raza once again jumped the gun and rode the assumption train. It was likely she wanted to check them out of stasis. An awkward pause set in once more as Raza rolled his sleeve up and checked his arm.

Karya sighed loudly as she caught notice. 'Are you _ seriously _ telling me you don't remember your own ID?'

The other newcomer interrupted. 'Bethany Weid, number 018215,' the girl spouted off, not even needing to look at her number. It was promptly recorded by the secretary.

The important thing was to remain calm. Raza rolled his sleeve back up after memorising the digits. 'Raza Kulan, number one-zero-nine-nine-one-nine.' It was thusly recorded for the sake of record-keeping.

That was that. The woman nodded and tapped a few buttons. After a moment there was a whirring, and a beep. Two cards popped out of the handheld device. One was handed to each of the newbies. Raza quickly took his and studied it over. It wasn't anything fancy, just a plain card with some writing and a picture. _ It has a picture. _ A face with caramel-tanned skin and a bush of long, wild midnight hair stared back at the young man through green eyes. They shone in the light like dark emeralds. Presumably for dramatic effect a thick lock of hair draped over its face. It took a moment to keep up. Was this him? Sight locked hard onto the little image. It took a gentle elbow in the ribs to jar his attention back to reality. Bethany lifted an urging brow and motioned with her eyes. The other two were leaving. He quickly hopped to and followed along with the girl.

The whole place was a mess of people, paperwork, and countertops. Over a dozen different people sat behind desks and talked through headsets. Valius and Karya confidently a path through the sea of faces to the other side of the room, over to another door and another secretary.

'Veilguard Team for equipment requisition,' stated Valius coldly. He threw some paperwork on the table, along with his own ID card.

Without time to react, Raza's card was torn from his fingers. Karya snatched it up with a glower and placed it on the table, around the same time Bethany submitted hers of her own volition. The cards were looked over and handed back after only seconds. Before he could move to grab his it was thrust at his chest in the open palm of Karya, knocking him back. As soon as she let go it fell to the ground, leaving him to stoop and desperately juggle-clutch while it bounced out of his hands. It hit the floor. All three teammates watched as Raza was forced to quietly kneel down and retrieve it.

Raza was quickly left behind as the others walked through the door and into another hallway. At least Bethany paused and slowed down, allowing him time to catch up. Now the two were a few feet behind the others, who carried on blissfully unaware. He seized the moment.

'_Hey,_' Raza whispered to the portly girl. '_Are my eyes green?_' It was kind of impossible for this body to see its own face without a reflective surface.

Bethany stopped in her tracks. Blue eyes clouded with confusion. A stunned, slightly gaping jaw mouthed the word "_what?_" and her eyebrows furrowed. She just stared, silent as death.

_ Okay then. _ Raza kept moving, without a word. Thankfully his rats' mess of hair hid the bitter, hot sting steaming the skin of his cheeks. He bit his lip. Why was he here? Why was he even doing this? He sped up.

Bethany caught up, jogging to match his new pace. '_What do you mean?_' She whispered too.

Giving an answer now felt stupid. This was stupid. They were all stupid, this was ridiculous. Chlorinated pressure built up in the nose, rising up behind the eyes. It began to leak out. Who… was he? Where was he, really? He let loose a sigh, careful to keep it quiet. Nobody needed another reason to judge him as inferior.

'_What are you talking about?_' Bethany leaned in a little too close. '_Are you okay?_'

'Y-'. He stopped at a syllable. His voice threatened to crack. Instead he just nodded. More tears welled up. There was no graceful means to wipe them away.

'Raza-'

She couldn't keep up. Courage was a close enough facsimile. Raza walked on ahead, overtaking the other two. If he was useless, he was only an idiot to them, nobody else. They were wrong. They had to be looking for a weapons storage or some kind of depo. It would be labelled, this was a relatively efficient layout. Even hospitals made sense if people read the signs. Raza hit another T intersection with two signs. Left led to training and testing. Right led to the armoury and storehouse. He headed right.

As the others hit the fork in the road he glanced back, just for a second. They took the right. _ Good. _ He charged on ahead to a metal door marked "Requisitions".

There he stopped. A slot by the door required a keycard. Seeing as his ID had no mag-stripe or chip in it there was a good chance it needed something in Valius' possession. Raza leaned back against the opposing wall and crossed his arms in wait. They would catch up.

Dear leader Valius didn't even look. Karya on the other hand shook her head at the black-haired youth with a snooty sneer. Bethany only glanced his way for a moment, then moved on. He was right: Valius withdrew a keycard from his person and slipped it into the box by the door. It opened with a beep. They were in. After everyone else had gone through Raza headed up the tail-end. If he couldn't be clever he could be brooding.

There was only a plain concrete room with a barred safety glass barrier at the other end. That was about it. The floor was at least painted a forest green for some reason. Behind the barrier was a man in his late fourties, donned in body armour. Rather uninterested, he sat on a wooden chair and read a magazine.

Valius strode up and tossed a few sheets of paper under a gap in the glass. It was taken without a word, and the man pushed an unseen button. A slot in the counter appeared, and a touchscreen monitor popped up.

'Pick a weapon,' Valius commanded.

Bethany was first. She walked up unceremoniously, slid her card through a connected reader, and scrolled through the selection with a lazy finger. 'I've always been partial to hammers, myself.' She booped the screen and there was a hum and thunk behind the counter. In a matter of seconds the man behind the glass pushed a couple of objects through the slot. One was a large hammer. Another was an earpiece. Completely out of left field she waved her gloved hand over the counter, resulting in a deep, slow beep. The glove lit up.

_ That was good to know. _

After that she tapped the bottom of the hammer handle. The object immediately became an inconspicuous little box that she promptly clipped onto her waist. Eyes met his as she did. 

_ That helped too. _ So there was something to being last. Bethany promptly moved aside and cleared the way.

Now it was his turn. Raza approached the screen and scanned his card. A selection of weapons appeared. Swords looked fairly standard, that might be alright.

'Ugh, don't give him anything sharp, he'll hurt himself.' Again Karya stuck her pointy nose into his personal affairs. The woman donned a sassy stance, hands on her hips.

Bethany liked the hammer, but it didn't feel right for him, and guns like Valius had were only convenient until a person needed to reload. Everything looked too plain.

_ Oh. _

He pressed an icon. A whirr and a thud behind the counter indicated a successful selection. In seconds the supply officer placed a whip and a comm link on the counter. He promptly took them and unlocked his glove. A whip was perfect. It had range, stopping power, control, close-range opportunities, and a lot of diversity. It would serve well. He then clipped the communicator to his helmet as Bethany had.

This time the group was silent. Evidently they had no more snippy remarks. A glance to Bethany showed her method as she tapped a pair of fingers to a circle on the right side of her helmet, twice. Like an eclipse it slowly green-screened itself out of existence, until it disappeared, leaving only a little metal button on her collar. Neither of the others were looking.

There was a good chance his face was still red. Raza thought twice as he brought his fingers to his head, covering it by scratching his chin.

Bethany grimaced. 'So when I joined I was supplied with three gems. Do the same rules apply for stasis?'

Karya held no malice in her voice for this query. 'Yeah.'

'Awesome,' replied Bethany, glancing at the outsider in the helmet. 'Well, let's go.'

'Back to the lobby.' The leader headed for the door.

Raza however turned back and gave a nod of thanks to the… uninterested man not looking or caring in the slightest behind the counter. That was that, then. He followed without a word, back to the main lobby of chaos.

Surprisingly this one was easy. He shadowed the team to a plain vending machine in-between consumables and medical supplies. Rows of little, round, coloured gems sat in metal spirals, waiting for purchase. Bethany once more blazed the trail by holding her card up to the machine until it beeped. Everything beeped in this place. There were no pings, dings, dongs, ticks, or tocks. Anyhow, the machine did its intended purpose and showed "3 CREDITS" on its screen. Bethany scrolled through the list, picked three, and watched them fall into the dispenser pit below.

_ So, okay, _ that seemed ominously simple. Raza followed suit like a good little duckling. Somehow this was actually easier. As he watched the screen, things made sense. Gloves held the power, be it to seal or summon energies that could be harnessed into gems, just like the ancient guardians. Each of those little jewels held a creature or a magic to cast, one or the other. Each of the colours was another element, with its own style and properties.

According to the machine anything half decent was out of his credit range. It was square one, with level one gear. Only a few options were available for creatures: Dire Kuri was a roughed-up-looking cat, Dire Poletto was a mangy-looking mongrel dog, Dire Zeyvar was a tattered fox, Dire Pillep was a mean rabbit, and Dire Prucchi was an evil frog. Each of them sounded… not all that nice. Each had its own stats. Out of all of them Dire Kuri has the highest agility. It looked good. He picked that. Then the machine did nothing. The words "designate element" scolded the youth. _ Fine, _ darkness it was. It matched his hair anyway. Then a black gem popped out. A Dire Shadow Kuri was now his.

Now it was time for spells. The others looked like they knew what they were doing. They had offence covered by the look and sound of things. Healing Leaf sounded good. Recovery was a smart choice in any situation. A green gem fell free. Next was… Mindshock. A mental stunner would be good against foes if it could buy some precious time. A purple gem came loose. Now he was ready.

_ Or not. _ 'Great. He picked, like, the worst beast and no offensive magic,' Karya sniped. This was getting old, fast.

Enough was enough. 'If you don't want me here I can just leave, you know.' He stood straight up. Static nearly burned between eyes as he stared down Karya in her tracks. 'I never asked to be here! Just say the word, I'll quit and you can go find someone else to kiss your ass!'

Silence hit like the falling sky. All sounds died out in the immediate twenty feet. Faces stared. Bethany gritted her teeth, wincing as if at a car accident in progress. Valius palmed the grip of his pistol.

'This one's defective.' Genuine worry flashed in the crimson-haired girl's eyes. She tugged on Valius' sleeve concernedly. 'He's… _ actually defective. _'


	3. Sharp Edges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seal Guardians is a story inspired by an unmade idea for a video game from the writer. Taking the same concept and spinning it in a new angle, this work found life as a written story instead, with new characters, a more complex plot, and uniquely original characters.
> 
> Now armed and ready to roll, Raza and his team encounter an unwelcome roadblock in the form of some not so friendly faces.

That long, overly dramatic pause dragged itself out far too long, like over-stretched putty. All along its treacherous reach feet were glued to the floor and faces magnetised to the centre of the action. The urge to bury his face in his arms and curl up in a corner felt pretty hard to resist just now.

The spectacle grew as Valius narrowed his eyes on the outcast. ‘_We’ll deal with this one later._’ His hand slowly left his weapon, only to cross his arms in disapproval. The device had taken shape at the mere presence of his hand, reassembling from a belt clip to a gun, and now back.

‘We’re sunk,’ moaned Karya. ‘We’ll never catch up now! They’ll _ ruin _ us!’ A clap of sound hit the air as she stomped furiously on the fine marble floor. That was a lovely vague statement of imminent doom.

Soon it became… almost sort of clear. _ Not really. _ A shrill cackle broke the silence. ‘What do you mean “will”? We _ have_.’ Out from the crowd, four new faces appeared, all clad in the same drab uniform. A nasally tone accented a high, pitchy voice. A girl with meadow green curly locks sauntered forth, one sassy hand backed on one sassy hip. A pointed chin and orange jewel eyes stood out strong in contrast. ‘You’re now… let me do the math.’ The woman daintily counted on long-nailed fingers. ‘Not one but two teammates down, that’s a thousand point deduction each. You failed your assignment at Highmore. That’s two hundred down the drain. You had to get a new weapon because you lost yours, that’s another thirty, and- oh, yes. We just scored the find of a lifetime and crushed a den of gem smugglers. That’s three hundred and twenty-two points to us. That’s a whopping two-thousand, five hundred, and sixty-two points behind us.’ She took a moment to wink enthusiastically. ‘You’re down lower than even Team Beamforce! And you’ve got an insurrectionist on your team!’ As realisation set in the girl huffed excitedly, her virtually flat chest heaving from her coat rack-thin frame. ‘You’re _ never _ going to catch up! _ Ever!_’

Then came another new face. A smug smirk covered the diagonal lips of a man with short, spiked, brown hair. Freckles dotted his young cheeks. Caramel eyes scanned over the competition. ‘So, Valius,’ said the youth. He couldn’t have been more than twenty-two. ‘Are you gonna kill these ones too?’

That set Valius off. Fire could have burst from his eyes at this rate. ‘I only kill people that deserve it, you little wretch!’

‘Please do,’ snarked the green-haired one. ‘I’m so in love with this.’ She turned to-

_ Oh, hello. _ Now things got interesting. Over behind the others, a young lady with long, purple-blue hair stared on with all the dour enthusiasm of a mortician. Purple eyes glossed over and through the team like ghosts. Pale skin sported black, swirling runes like grapevines just under the eyes, like mascara gone wild.

‘Surelle, look at yours! She’s fat! This is too much fun!’ Greenie struck again. The burn train never stopped, did it?

Unlike the others, this “Surelle” didn’t bat an eye. ‘Don’t underestimate them,’ she warned. ‘If Valius hadn’t pushed them into the volcano we’d still be behind right now.’ She seemed to have a modicum of common sense. How old was she, though? By the shape of her tall face and young features she was anywhere between sixteen and twenty-eight.

‘Spoilsport,’ pouted the shrill one.

Then it was Bethany’s turn. ‘So this is my new rival, huh?’ She strode forth, into the no man’s land between the two gangs, and eyed the sombre one. ‘You’re a bit skinny to be going out on missions. Never worked a day in your life? At least, not upright, judging by that trashy makeup.’

Surelle merely rolled her eyes. Not a word was said. Raza had time however to do a double-take. It was pretty evident that he was missing something here. That may have been a painfully poor understatement verging on conceptual blasphemy, but it was a fair point. What seemed sensible was assuming Bethany was the nice one in the group. Now suddenly she was the crabby one. What had he missed? What memo had skipped him?

‘Better to hold my tongue and not act ignorant,’ Surelle replied at last, after maybe four whole seconds of pause.

Raza merely stood and watched, probably like an idiot. They thought he was, so that was likely what they would think of this. He stood helplessly and watched like a mannequin as a shortstack with dark ashen-coloured, white-streaked hair slunk out from behind Surelle. This kid was definitely not an adult. Calling him sixteen was pushing it. What looked like four sets of little black elk horns jutted out of his skull, forming a broken crown of sorts. Black bars like stripes layered themselves horizontally across the boy’s face from the eyes down. His grey skin and grey eyes made him look a bit… corpse-like.

‘So my rival is broken?’ The child eyed Raza up and down thoroughly. ‘Does that mean I get a free pass?’ He watched carefully, eager for a reaction. When one wasn’t found he tried again. ‘Do you always walk around with your helmet on or do you just want to hide your ugly face?’ Again there was nothing. He tried again. ‘Can you even see through all that hair in your face, or are you just brain-dead?’

It was time to go against the grain. _ Why not? _ Raza dropped his helmet and revealed his face. ‘Well, putting all that aside, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Raza Kulan.’ Both teams froze and stared as he walked up to the lad and extended a hand to shake. ‘I hope you’re having a better day than I am.’

That did it. The child backed away, utterly thrown off guard. He glared at the tan-skinned counterpart, then the hand. ‘I think not.’ The boy slapped it aside with a haughty toss, then took the opportunity to scoff. ‘He really is broken! Look at him! Are you trying to make friends here or something? What a loser!’ The boy laughed.

_ Maybe, _ admitted Raza, but it was better to be a lovable pity case than a jerk. Ripples made waves.

Out of the corner of his eyes the purple-eyed girl lifted her head and stared. Careful eyes analysed his own.

‘Nice to meet all of you,’ Raza added. That should razz Valius a bit. If he was going to get capped in ten minutes in the nearest alley, at least it would be on his own terms.

At this point the boy gave in. ‘I can’t even laugh at him anymore. He’s just sad. I feel bad for you guys.’ An honest tone broke through the high-handed sarcasm. He turned and walked away.

Then went Action Max there or whatever their brown-haired leader’s name was. ‘Let’s go. We’ve already won this.’ Without even looking he reached back and snagged green-hair’s arm, tugging her along from her glaring match with Karya. Their gazes didn’t break until they disappeared into the crowd.

Lastly, the quiet girl just stared for a moment, directly at Raza. Wide, round eyes studied him like a cat’s. Then she too was gone. She was cute.

Then reality(?) returned with a vengeance. A stern palm pushed Raza hard into the vending machine. ‘Let’s get going, moron,’ said Valius. Scorn riddled his voice.

‘Yeah, good going,’ added Karya with a snide tone.

The group left the building without ceremony. Then came the fist. A set of knuckles connected with Raza’s cheek before he could get his helmet back on. He hit the ground like a sack of rocks.

Raza sighed and climbed to his-

A boot nearly cracked a rib. Down he went again. This time he laid still. It hurt too much to try anything else. A pathetic cough stabbed through his chest like a knife. Sandpaper ground against his lungs with sickening, bloody heat. That hurt far too much. Tears fought to try and escape.

Bethany again knelt down and lent a helping hand. ‘Here, come on. He won’t do it again.’ Blue eyes would have lasered a hole through Valius’ skull.

‘...Okay.’ Raza put his trust in her. With one hand on his and another around his back she helped him to his feet-

And a pair of hands tightened on his collar as Valius grabbed Raza’s neck. ‘Do you know what you did!? You made a laughingstock of me!’ There came a hard slap. Clear hearing was replaced with the sound of C sharp for a few seconds. The sting lasted longer.

‘Valius!’, shouted Bethany. Her own hands joined the fray, trying to pull him off. ‘Stop!’

‘It’d be worth the loss to end you right now!’ A hum buzzed in Raza’s good ear as a pistol levied on his temple.

So this was it.

‘Valius!’

This was the beginning and the end.

‘Don’t stop me!’

_ Alright then. _

‘Come on… this is getting out of hand,’ murmured Karya. ‘So he’s an idiot. We’ll just have to-’

The trigger closed. He wasn’t there to find a target. Strangling someone tended to leave the victim’s hands free. One second was all it took. A free hand palmed the gun out of the way as a leg lifted and kicked, hard, into an unsuspecting abdomen. Valius hunched over with a whiff of lost air as his lungs emptied. A bullet tried to fly into space. Another palm sucker-punched the leader in the side of the head. A spinning kick rammed hard into his face, hands barely raising to stop the full impact. Valius hit the ground this time. It was all timing and tactics. Everything had angles.

When a hand reached out and snagged Raza’s ankle he lost balance. It pulled. He fell. There were still angles. Seconds passed like minutes. A free leg lifted and dropped in a scissor kick. Just below the spinal cord would end it. Fragile bones could break so easily. His heel landed lower down instead, on soft ribs. As Valius cried out in fury Raza struck again. A kick planted squarely on the man’s face, knocking Valius down for the count. Raza scrambled away and up to his-

_ Pain. _

Lightning surged through every cell. Two prongs bit into his back. Everything went black.


	4. The Ties That Choke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seal Guardians is a story inspired by an unmade idea for a video game from the writer. Taking the same concept and spinning it in a new angle, this work found life as a written story instead, with new characters, a more complex plot, and uniquely original characters.
> 
> The time has come to get on the road- or sky, as it were. Thoughts resonate deep inside as Raza is forced to evaluate his purpose and role in events.

Again there were beeps. There were always those infernal beeps. Some were shrill. Some were low and long. All of them dug into his skull like a chisel. Consciousness slowly filled the empty spaces like water through a crack. The beeps got louder. Little sounds acquired life, slowly blurring into a vague background hum of ambient noise. After a minute the ability came back to wake up.

It was no less quiet in what passed for reality. Raza’s still body moved at his command, stiff and unwilling. Somewhere out there was the sound of someone laughing. There was also a truck backing up uncomfortably close. That definitely inspired movement before his head got crushed. Now he had to get up-

And this time he did. There was no axe in the skull or boot in the torso. Raza was free to actually get to his feet like a normal person, for once. This was still just one day, too. It wasn’t nearly over. He still had to survive.

Then there were beautiful blues. Golden hair shone in the afternoon sun. ‘You’re awake,’ said a voice. She extended a hand.

He took it. ‘Barely.’ Muscles screamed as they obeyed, getting up off one sore knee. He was stiff as a board. ‘Have I been tased?’ That feeling was oddly similar to things that other people had gone through.

‘Yeah,’ Bethany confirmed. ‘Karya got scared.’

‘I kind of wond-’

‘I didn’t get scared,’ snipped a touchy voice. ‘I got angry, because you attacked a teammate.’ That could only be Karya.

‘I also acted in self-defence so your darling team captain didn’t perform another public execution,’ Raza countered. He stretched as much as his body would allow. That spot of skin was far too tight where he was jabbed with basically an electric cattle prod. It was likely he’d been burned pretty badly. There was no poultice for that laying around though, was there? He would most likely have to walk that off.

Over a few feet, keeling by Valius, Karya glared death. ‘He didn’t kill Annox and Vardi. Our targets did. We were fighting on a volcano and they really did get pushed in. Black Joker’s just spreading that rumour to discredit us.’ She swept the hair from Valius’ eyes and tenderly stroked his strong jaw.

Raza was done with guessing games. ‘I’ll assume you mean our doppelgangers in the other team.’

‘Our rivals, team Black Joker. They’re idiots, and up until last week we were always ahead of them. They wouldn’t have passed us if we hadn’t lost that last mission.’

None of that was especially news. ‘Are we talking playful competition or do you have something personal against them?’, enquired Raza.

Then the girl snapped. ‘Okay what’s with you!? Why are you acting so stupid!?’ Karya sighed and shook her head at the heavens, obviously cursing happenstance.

What did he really have to lose? Raza gently pushed free from Bethany’s stabilising grip and limped over. ‘What’s “with” me.’ Eyebrows raised and fell for emphasis. ‘That’s a good question. What’s with you? I was just ejected out of a cryo-tube, had a gun in my face, got called an idiot, got laughed at and mocked, you undercut me, you make fun of me, you belittle me for trying to just- just- _ understand _ what’s going on, and when I do the only thing I know to do; think, act, and not kill everyone in sight, I get called an idiot! And then this psychopath beats the crap out of me after being accused of murder!’ He pointed scornfully at Valius. ‘You think any of this will help you!? You think I’m a loser? Cut me free. Can’t do that because it’s apparently against the rules? Then cut your losses, suck it up, be a team, and teach me what I’m evidently not catching up on!’ A petulant breath outed itself in anger. ‘You’re the worst team I’ve ever seen. You don’t even back each other up. No wonder you’re still faceless grunts.’

‘_Ruthless,_’ muttered Bethany. She just watched from a distance.

His fist clenched at the word. Raza took a breath. ‘I’ll let you have that one, because you’re the only one here on my side.’ The black-haired one ambled to the nearby wall and leaned for support. ‘I don’t know what you expected, but congratulations. If you want to act like this, then be children. They were right: You’ll never catch up.’

Stunned silence for once played in the cards of any hand but his. Karya bit her lip, choking back words unsaid, maybe even unthought.

‘He has sleep amnesia,’ Bethany stated confidently, but softly. She turned to the conscious male. ‘Don’t you?’

‘I guess so,’ Raza said in turn. He rightfully crossed his arms in contempt.

‘So I was right, he is defective.’ Karya glanced to the grass pensively. ‘Great.’

‘_He _ also knocked Valius down for the count,’ Raza shot back disdainfully.

‘You sucker-punched him,’ Karya spat back, suddenly full of verbal venom. ‘And you don’t know what we’ve been through! We just lost half our team and our ranking in Zericon. We’re a laughingstock. Even Team Beamforce is looking better than us!’ She locked her gaze on the new boy. ‘We cared about Annox and Vardi. We watched our friends burn to death in a volcano and all you care about is that we’re not babying you. Well sorry if we’re not carrying you all the way, princess.’

‘No.’ The sleeper cut in. Valius let out a groan as he forced himself up off his back. ‘He’s right. We failed because we’re not good enough.’ Karya hooked two hands under his arms to help him up, and was slapped away. ‘I can’t even beat a kid with no memory or life skills.’ With one fist on the dirt and a final push he stood up. ‘We’ve gotten soft.’

Bethany broke the exchange once more. ‘Can I cut in?’ She did anyway, this was just a more polite warning. ‘’Everyone’s tense and we’re not going to be thinking rationally. If we argue now we’ll just make it worse. Let’s just calm down and go over the basics we need to discuss, like where we go from here and how we make up for the last mission. Is there recovery?’

‘No,’ said Karya. ‘We blew it.’

‘Yes there is,’ corrected Valius. He wiped the blood from his mouth and nose with his bare hand. ‘We were hunting a criminal called Azerich and his team. They were smuggling blood gems to somewhere. If we can find either his storehouse or his buyer we can still make up for this.’

Karya pouted on the ground. ‘But… we’ve got two level-one newbies with us, and those smugglers are heavily-armed.’

That meant nothing, apparently. Valius shook his head. ‘If we lost that easily we weren’t as great as we thought we are. Evidently Annox and Vardi were slowing us down.’

‘But-’

Valius boldly pressed on. ‘The only way to learn is to fight. We have to push our limits if we want to succeed.’ One by one he stared the team down, sapphire eyes burning as he spoke. ‘We’ll do this, and we’ll show Black Joker exactly why we’re on top. You got that!?’

Suddenly downspoken, Karya pursed her lips and nodded. A delicate finger wiped the corners of her eyes.

With a nod Bethany stepped forward. ‘I’m game. We’ll learn on the way.’

There wasn’t time given for a third answer. A hand touched Karya’s cheek. He patted Bethany’s shoulder. A half a dozen steps brought him to Raza. Emerald and sapphire danced across a line of sight. ‘You don’t have to like me. If you can’t remember then you’re going to have to work twice as hard to be half as good. That’s just the way it is.’ Valius’ voice held no pity. ‘But if you can fight like that then there’s a chance, however slim. Welcome to Team Veilguard.’

He didn’t leave time to respond. A hard stare imposed silence. Then Valius strode away, cool and calm. Broad shoulders were dusted with silky brown hair forming waves, touched by the gentle breeze. This guy was… a piece of work alright. He wouldn’t even admit to his injuries.

Judging by his peers that speech worked on everyone else. It was hard to forget a gun to the face, though, and only minutes earlier at that. Plus there was the morning wake-up call to reflect on. Who had the audacity to wake someone up with a threat of death?

‘Alright, so should we rest up and get prepared to track the smugglers?’ Bethany deferred to her new captain’s authority as she asked.

‘No.’ He kept walking away, with his back to the group. ‘You have your weapons and gems. We leave now.’

Raza glanced to Bethany.

‘O-okay Valius,’ said Karya. The woman lifted herself to her feet and tailed after him.

‘No rest? Okay,’ said the blonde. A simple look told, not asked, for Raza to come along. He did.

He had barely even gotten a good look at anything before being thrown to the floor in an all-out catfight. The outside of the building actually looked okay. It was essentially a giant dome painted white, with a giant skylight, but it was okay. Several wings branched off into different directions, all ending with little domed towers. Apparently it was a theme. Back on the central facility a giant black Z took up a lot of space, attached to several other, smaller letters, forming the words Zericon Industries.

For a security and defence company it certainly seemed to employ a lot of R&D. There was nothing to be done or said about it now. Raza kept walking, down along a white stone path, through courtyards, hedges, shrubbery, a few fountains, aged pillars, and what looked to be about a thousand discreet security cameras.

The extent of this trek brought the group out to the edge of a fence, and a gate, with high walls. Several jet planes waited at the ready near a private runway, all with various people getting on and off. Valius, unrelenting, led the group to a red one at the end. Without a word he got on, flashed his ID card, and took a seat. Karya immediately did the same and snagged the same seat next to her precious leader. It somehow had to be, as Raza sat next to Bethany. However poetically fitting it would have been to sit on opposite sides of the bus, some sort of team loyalty in the shape of a large blonde girl had managed to huddle him into the window seat in the row immediately behind the others. Teammates stuck together, no matter where in this incomprehensible series of circumstances told Raza he currently was.

The area was actually kind of pretty. It could have been worse. What vague and tattered remnants of his conveniently tremulous memory remained told him that this place, Zericon headquarters, was located on Manifest Island, the uppermost northern point, on the northmost isle. There was a town nearby to the south. Apparently geography and basic locations were no problem. If they were indeed going to Past Island, all the way to the southwest point, it would take them a while. There was time to sit and look pensive.

The plane took off. Raza noticed a screen on the back of Valius’ seat, ready for input. He gave it an experimental tap, and it lit up. Options suddenly blipped into existence, such as icons for maps, e-mail, music, news, things all along that like. He picked the map feature, and then brought up a full-area image of Past Island. A time and trajectory in the corner of the screen told him they were moving as the crow flies. For the day it took by public boat to get to any neighbouring island, this jet only apparently took twenty minutes. Technology had its uses.

Past Island’s history also popped up. He pulled that aside to its own private window and scanned along the terrain as he read. Most of the place was mountainous and rugged, with still-active volcanoes and high mountains. A lot of primordial-esque flora and fauna lived there, most of it generated by the leaking gaps in the sealed mystical gates guarding reality from… something. It was basically a dinosaur island, in short. Most of the place was hot, humid, and full of giant insects. And they were wearing skin-tight body suits that probably breathed like cellophane. This was great.

_ Highmore. _ That was the target. There was a volcano all the way across the island, out in the northwest area, and they would be landing in the southeast. That was going to be quite the walk. Judging by the local inhabited areas they would have to stray off the path around the third town in, heading north, and just cut their way through the wilderness. If these smugglers were real they were likely camped out along that high ridge just to the south of the volcano, where there was too steep a cliff to go by boat and too thick of jungle cover to land a plane. Unless Valius and Karya knew the area intimately they’d all be spotted just searching for this hideout long before they found it. This was not great. More information was needed from the experienced ones.

What else was there to learn? According to the history article the island was named for its overwhelming presence of fossils, artefacts, and old gems hidden in ancient ruins. In other words it was a treasure hunter’s paradise. This made a lot of sense all of a sudden.

So very soon the island came into view. Its promise was kept well: Smoking volcanoes spouted like industrial smokestacks, spewing molten ash into the cloud over the sky it cast forth. A rain of grey blanketed the west side of the island. There was definitely no chance of flying through that. Raza sat back with a sigh and prepared for landing.


	5. Ashes And Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seal Guardians is a story inspired by an unmade idea for a video game from the writer. Taking the same concept and spinning it in a new angle, this work found life as a written story instead, with new characters, a more complex plot, and uniquely original characters.
> 
> The quest to reach Highmore has begun- every arduous and drawn out moment of it. While exploring the new surroundings, more ways of the world are revealed, and promptly questioned immediately.

Heat was one word for the force of pressure that blasted him in the body with the might of a sandstorm. Another was homesickness. It sure was great to have a place to go back to. Yup. That was great. For more than a few successive moments a cold chill seeped into his chest, festering into panic. Was this the rest of his life, running errands as a faceless lackey? Was this all he was? What contract had he signed? What made him do this?

Fear sank its claws in deep, rooting through flesh and into the nerves. There was that proverbial brick wall, staring him in the face. He couldn’t move. The top step of the exit to the jet was as far as he could go. This wasn’t home. This wasn’t anything. This was a dream, it had to be. A cryo chamber? No. It was fake. He was a child in bed, with crayons, drawing a bad story. He was in a coma. This was- this was nothing. Where really was he? Why was this all he knew?

His lungs worked overtime. Emerald eyes darted around, wildly scanning for an escape. Reality was like a wall. It had to be vaulted over. There was that… angle. Like a dream, everything was tilted forward- over. Eyes only saw forward, but the… essence, floated overhead, rising to the skull. Everything was at the wrong angle. The right thought would lead out of this, it was just willpower needed to break the dream. He just had to find the right state of mind.  _ Wake up. _

‘Raza, are you okay?’

_ No, no, shut up. _ The sound pricked at his ears, distracting his brain back down to the world.  _ No, no no. _ There was a way out…

‘Come on, idiot. Let’s move.’

The warm air was suffocating. An unthinking hand grabbed the railing. It was hot. Metal embraced skin, and body. It touched. It was physical. The brain was convinced.

_ This wasn’t real. _

Was this…  _ thing _ his flesh vessel? Was this him? Was he Raza? Who decided? What decreed this?

A stern grip seized around his collar. He was pulled down the stairs by force. Long crimson hair brushed his face in the burning breeze as Karya yanked him away from the air-conditioned, flying box. He was stuck here. This place was still here.

As he was pulled into the posse by force his mind spun in cartwheels, beating at the bony confines like a bee in a jar. Something had to wake him up, to real reality.

‘What’s with you now?’, snarked the redhead. ‘Are you broken or something?’

Valius started walking. ‘We’re off, Raza. Follow or die.’

An empty shell glared up blankly from a bowed head, looking but never seeing. Slavery was no choice. Death was… death. He had no decision or call in his existence. He would die, would he? He would be killed? Reluctance oozed from every pore, mingling with the sweat as the thing that was called Raza positioned its mind to reconnect with the nerve endings once more. Willpower succeeded automatic function. He once more accepted this place.

Even Bethany moved along, leaving him with one last glance. So now here he was, watching them go, again a useless child. They were all he had. What other choice was really presented but to follow? He ran to catch up.

‘What’s wrong?’, asked Bethany politely.

Raza shook his head, lost for thought. ‘I- this… doesn’t feel real. It feels wrong.’

She looked right through his eyes. ‘Like wrong as in something’s wrong here or something’s wrong inside?’

The young man shook his head. ‘This doesn’t feel real. It- agh. It feels like I shouldn’t be here, doing this. Where’s my choice? Where’s my life?’

That provoked a quizzical turn of the head and prolonged stare. ‘Don’t you want to be here?’

‘Would you?’, he countered.

Bethany glanced around and down. ‘I signed up for this. I joined Zericon so I could do something important with my life and be a part of something bigger.’ Something in her watching eyes searched him. ‘What do you want to do with your life?’

That was a fine question to throw at someone with no practical life experience or memory of the world. ‘I don’t know’ was all he could give as a response. It was a no-win question.

She sighed herself into a grimace. ‘Well then, what’s wrong with starting here? Even if you don’t like it, it’ll at least give you the opportunity to go out and broaden your horizons. And who knows, you might find your calling here, with us.’

It was too hard to come up with a counter argument at the moment. Raza clutched his wrist and stared at the cement. It still felt wrong.

This place, what had he overlooked in his pensiveness? He needed to plan,  _ that’s right _ . At the moment all he could see were the stony confines of the Zericon stronghold situated all around the runway. Over the lookout turrets and high walls forest canopy draped the landscape, painted it all a mottled green and brown. Flora already divested into too many unique shapes and sizes in the distance alone. Behind him the jet rested among its kin, picking up and unloading passengers beside a familiar domed building. The endless sea shone a sky blue farther than the eyes would tell. By the look of it the runway jutted out over the ocean. It wasn’t ugly to look at by any means.

Then the gates opened. Another paved road snaked off into the far reaches, hugging the sandy, boulder-laden beach of the coast. The beach couldn’t have been less than thirty feet wide at any point. All those weird trees were indeed weirder up close. All along the left side of the road massive stalks sprouted up along the hills, breaking into up to eight arms that bent in right angles and grew upward into more cactus arm protrusions, all draped with what looked like furry ivy. Large red trees were furnished with colourful fronds fountaining out the top like a feather duster. Those would have made the neatest clothing or furniture. Big, green plants grew in literal spirals, occasionally dotted here and there with lazy clumps of leafy green, with what looked like fruits growing from them.

The blonde caught his fascinating and smiled. ‘It’s a new world, huh?’ She tried at least halfheartedly to hold back an amused chuckle.

‘What are those fruits?’  _ Yes, fine, _ he sounded like a child.  _ So be it. _ This was too entertaining not to ask.

Then she laughed. ‘Those are pwichi fruit.’ She wandered over and plucked one, placing it in his hand.

A little red ball the size of an orange fit in his palm, swollen over here and there with smaller red orbs, dusted white at the ends like little pimples. ‘Pwee-chee,’ he said, feeling out the word. ‘Is it edible?’ This was kind of fun to look at. Its firm skin gave a little in his clutch.

‘Oh yeah,’ Bethany said with a nod. ‘Go ahead.’

So he did. With a dainty nip he tore a piece off with his teeth and chewed it down. Something tart and tangy met his tongue. There was a faint taste of… what could it compare to? There was that heady sting in the mouth of citrus, and a sweet candy aftertaste. ‘It’s bitter,’ he admitted. It took some chewing to release the flavour. ‘Are you sure it’s ripe?’

His teammate shrugged. ‘I dunno.’

That was not comforting. He ate it anyway, skin and seeds. It was hard to compare it to anything, seeing as this was the first thing he had eaten all day, or possibly in years, or… ever. Still, they were alright. It was a pity he had no pouch or anything to carry them in. Bringing some along would have been smart.

Then a thought crossed him. ‘Why are we walking?’

Noble Valius didn’t even turn around to answer, boldly facing destiny with both eyes wide open. ‘We can’t catch a bus from here, they’re not allowed on Zericon territory, and all the jeeps are out or destroyed.’

‘Are we in that bad of shape with the smugglers?’ This may require some drastic plan changes.

The smirk growing on Karya’s face was no reassuring joy. ‘No. They were all  _ eaten _ by the dinosaurs!’ She grinned a maniacal grin.

This one had to be taken with a grain of salt. Raza reserved his reaction for a later date. ‘Are you serious?’

‘Oh yeah, dinosaurs and big monsters crush them all the time. We’re in danger just walking on these roads.’ Something in her tone and that persistent smile wasn’t quite selling this.

‘Sure,’ Raza replied sarcastically, pursing his lips.

‘It’s no lie, newbie,’ interjected Valius. ‘There are walls around the towns here for a reason.’

That was right, there had been sentry posts and guard walls around the landing area. In all fairness that could have just been a trait of Zericon. ‘Alright.’ Raza was willing to accept that one. Valius didn’t seem like the type to tell a lie for fun. So Karya was just being mean.

At least the scenery made up for the long, uninterrupted moments of awkward silence as they hiked down the road in suits about as cool as an oven. Fifteen minutes down the road found him sweating like a summer day in the sun. It was another hour and fifteen minutes or so before civilisation began to show its presence. By then whatever the inside of his clothes looked like were not worth seeing, likely ever again. The sunny beach had parted ways half an hour back at a left turn inland, letting forest surround the road. Now the giant insects showed up.

‘Agh,’ groaned Karya as she swatted a buzzing thing away, her long crimson hair swinging to and fro. Its natural lustre had turned into a dull, sweaty frizz. ‘Great, I missed the giant insects,’ she cawed.

Chimney smoke was a welcome sight, as, surprisingly, were the large and wooden spikes driven into the ground to form a wall all around the town. Valius was right. In lieu of actual guard towers however the locals had settled on one central tower in the middle of the town. From the outside it looked like it was in the middle, at least. Like some kind of bizarre circus tent, a mesh net had been suspended over the town, leaving only the poor watcher in the tower at the mercy of the outside world. Down at person level the gate to the town had been left open. A massive arch of layered stones invited visitors in, to what a carving details as the town of Puwambi.

Inside was no disappointment. Instead of traditional houses, homes had been recreated out of reinforced white clay walls and thatch roofs. Restaurants featured open ovens over hand-dug charcoal pits. All the shops had thick-woven grassy canopies with various goodies strung along the edges to attract tourists. It did a fairly convincing job of looking primitive.

And it was already gone. Valius wandered past blindly and headed for a transit bus near the gate on the other side. The job was the job was the job. The man flashed a card at the driver and hopped on. One by one his loyal crew followed and climbed aboard. 

At least it was air conditioned. There were no fancy computers, or music, or even modern amenities, but it was cooled. The bus too had been themes, some sort of bamboo substitute strengthening the frame of yet another thatch roof. There was no way the wheels were actually stone but they definitely looked the part. Hand-made sack cloth seats had ivy-woven seatbelts. They had managed to make a stone-age bus. Now that was impressive.

Now they had to contend with a bus full of tourists and soul-seekers, all of whom had forgotten what deodorant was. Even Bethany winced at the smell. Both exchanged a thankful glace though as a giant… head-sized thing with four sets of wings and a sort of sucker face landed on the window. Three different stinger spines jutted out of its abdomen. This time taking the window seat was not so glamorous.

Some time into the trip they had found themselves deep in the jungle’s reaches. Light fell only through the holes in leafy forest ceiling. While Raza watched this new world unfold there suddenly came a soft jab in the arm. He turned to his cohort.

‘How are you feeling?’, Bethany asked.

The first instinct was to shrug, so he did. ‘A bit better. Thanks for talking me through it.’

In return she nodded. ‘No problem, it’s what teammates are for.’

All this time then only thing on his mind had been himself. That wasn’t exactly the greatest way to go about this. It was reasonable, but… selfish. ‘So who’s Deynan?’

Bethany smiled. ‘My husband.’

So intuition was right. ‘Do you know where he is now?’

The woman shook her head. ‘No. We were on the same team, Gilted Wing, but I can’t find any record of it now.’ Her smile faded. ‘I don’t know how long I’ve been asleep. Teams usually only disband if everyone is killed or if their performance is too low. I can’t find him in the accessible records and I don’t know what team he’d be on if he was transferred. I don’t even know if he’s even aware I’m awake.’ Slivers of concern soured her honey voice.

Kindness deserved kindness. ‘We can look for him together. I doubt he’s gone, we’ll find him.’

Her smile was daunted. ‘Thanks.’ Doubt speared that one word with a fork, and ate it. ‘I don’t even know what happened to my ring.’ She held up her right, un-gloved hand. ‘I had a ring before I went into stasis. I guess they don’t allow jewellery, but I want it back.

‘We can ask. It has to be somewhere.’

‘Yeah. I wanted to earlier but Valius said we had to go. You can’t argue with the captain.’

Raza shook his head, sending hair everywhere. ‘Forget him. He doesn’t own us.’

The mood changed as the bus screeched to a halt for seemingly no reason. Outside the window was all still forest, thick and wild. There was no town here. Raza stood up-  _ Raza undid his seatbelt _ and stood up as much as possible to get a better view. Unfortunately his teammates in the seat ahead had the same idea. Poor Bethany was left almost a foot shorter, staring at shoulder blades and nothing more.

‘Why did we stop?’ Raza had to ask.

Valius left his seat. ‘Come on.’

Karya followed along without a word, then Bethany, who tapped Raza’s arm. He too got out of the seat and into the aisle. Only after the others cleared the was he able to see out through the windshield, to the hulking behemoth blocking the road.

It wasn’t a dinosaur, but it sure was big. The bus was a toy to this thing. The jungle canopy tore open for its presence as it loomed above the trees. Fur and feathers adorned this beast, whatever it was, with a long neck and a beaky mouth like a gryphon. Beady yellow eyes looked around as it craned its head here and there, and then down at the team. A plume of feathers raised up on the back of its head as it narrowed its sights. Brown fur bristled. Clawed talon feet stopped raking the trees and planted firmly into the road.

Very slowly Valius withdrew a gem from his pocket. ‘On my mark,’ he stated calmly.

Were they going to fight this thing? Why? What did it do to the world? It was easier to chase it off or shoo it away. The boss was the boss. Raza grabbed his gems and got ready.

‘It’s a Primal Gigorn,’ Karya said for the benefit of the newcomers. ‘They’re vicious predators. Normally we’d breeze past this you two aren’t in any shape to fight. Just stay behind us.’ She grabbed a teal gem and pressed it into the palm of her guardian glove.

The beast wasn’t backing off. With a roar it readied for battle. A massive paw slammed down dead centre. Both at once Valius and Karya jumped and rolled to either side.

‘Stay back and protect the bus!’,’ ordered Valius. With a blazing flash a beast materialised from his glove. Molten ash and fire swept along an unseen wind, compiling into tangible form like building blocks. A Burning Dire Cerberan growled as it came to life, three heads all focused on the threat ahead. Little volcano vents on its back spewed an endless trail of smoke and flame. A fiery whip tail lashed erratically.

Now it was Karya’s turn. A teal flash blinded the scene. An explosion of colour turned into a blue-green rainbow, light shaping into wings, a head, and feathers. Talons took shape as the light wheeled in circles around her. Teal feathers donned a brilliant green-blue trim. A long, layered kite tail was sharpened on each edge. Horns, spines, razors- every inch of the teal beast was sharpened to a point. A crown of barbed spikes jutted from its skull. The Aero Dire Phoenix came to life.

Those were too neat not to stare at. Maybe he could do something, if at least to back them up. Raza loaded his own black gem into his palm and fired it up. It was somehow automatic. Instinct lifted every cell. Deep inside his chest energy began to flow like a generator. Force and vibrance leeched through his arm and into the glove. It was happening.

There was no flash or great light this time. Instead a faint black shadow jumped from the squeezed grip of his glove like the spray of juice. From the shadowy puddle formed a shadow of a Halloween cat. Its body quickly became corporeal. Orange eyes glowed like a pumpkin light. Tufts of black fur jetted out in all directions like a startled feline. For some reason a little brown witch hat sat atop its fuzzy head, speared through by a pointy ear. It snarled and hissed at the towering monstrosity across the battlefield. The little creature was only the size of a housecat. It was kind of cute.

It was a Shadow Dire Kuri, and it was all his. Getting too close to that Gigan thing seemed like a bad idea for such a little beast. Something in the bond to the glove seemed to trigger it. The cat backed away toward its master’s leg protectively, as if drawn by his thoughts.

Bethany went last. From her glove came a croak, and blue trails of energy spirited forth to weave into the form of a massive blue frog with a row of spikes down its back. Zericon had a thing for spikes. Red stripes lined its sides. Malicious yellow opticals stared out wall-eyed in different directions. An Aqua Dire Prucchi was at her command.

‘You chose the frog?’, asked Raza, not taking his eyes off the fight ahead.

She wasn’t wasting time looking his way either. ‘Yeah. It has a higher magic synch than all the others. I prefer casting spells.’

Valius preferred action. He wasted no time drawing his pistol and unloading several shots into the creature’s face. For what little it did, the beast roared. The Cerberan charged, leaping high and sinking its fangs into the enemy’s leg in three places. Fire sank like venom into its skin.

The teal phoenix soared high above and swept in from behind for a lunge. Bladed wings slashed through into thick, coarse fur, loosing trails of blood around the Gigan’s neck.

There had to be something Raza could do, but so far it looked covered. ‘So we can cast spells too, right?’

‘Yeah,’ said Bethany, on guard for any variance in the plan. ‘The glove has a cooldown and it relies on your own willpower. If your will is too weak you can’t summon or control anything, so be careful of that. The glove will light up again when it’s ready.’ She indicated the lines along the sides and the LED-looking ring on the palm of her glove. They were dark, not a bright blue.

Being on the alert helped. Raza barely ducked in time as the burning three-headed dog was tossed like a ragdoll over his head and into the bus. Windows cracked. The dog fell limp onto the hood, but not for long. It was up again in seconds. Once more Raza reactively ducked as it leapt clear over his head and back into the fray. The Cerberan dodged a swipe of the Gigan’s paw and lunged for the soft underbelly.

Blood now leaked like a broken faucet from the monster’s face and neck. Its chest and leg seeped with wounds. After a final winged slash to the throat it at last fell with a mighty thud. The two veterans sicced their beasts on the fallen creature.

‘It’s dead,’ said Raza solemnly. ‘You can let it rest.’

‘Not necessarily,’ warned Bethany. ‘When monsters die here they disperse into energy, like the stuff ours are made of. Watch for when it dies, it’ll release energy. Be sure to hold your glove up and catch some. You can use it to strengthen your gems.’

What she said was true. After a minute the corpse of the beard-bear-dog thing began to break apart into sparkles. Valius and Karya immediately held their gloves up, drawing the brown energy in like a vacuum. Raza and Bethany did the same. Much less of the reward found its way over to them from that far a distance. Maybe that was fair though. They had done nothing.

Valius returned to his old self. ‘Come on, back on the bus. We have work to do.’


	6. The Grind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seal Guardians is a story inspired by an unmade idea for a video game from the writer. Taking the same concept and spinning it in a new angle, this work found life as a written story instead, with new characters, a more complex plot, and uniquely original characters.
> 
> As the crew nears the destination of their mission they come to face a fact of life in their world: Like in any modern video game premise, there is always exploration, and hours upon hours of needless, endless grinding.

After the excitement of the pit stop interruption nothing much of the rest of the ride stood out. Raza and Bethany sat back and watched as badly-dressed tourists with expensive cameras were denied pictures. One woman with young children was denied an autograph from the two stars. Meanwhile the two new recruits were utterly ignored. Raza and Bethany evidently weren’t good enough. Their creatures just weren’t all that cool. Having done literally nothing important may have had something to do with that too.

The next town full of pseudo-ancient delights was unfortunately skipped over too. There was no time to eat or rest. The mission called. This time as they departed the town and the smell of wonderful barbeque beckoning to them agonisingly in vain they omitted to take the bus. Raza’s projections were correct. It was now time to venture off the beaten trail and into the wilderness of insect-riddled death. So far nobody had even discussed a plan of action. It was no wonder Annox and… the other one died. What was their name? _ Vardi, right. _ That took a minute.

Raza broke the code of silence. ‘So is this the same route you two took last time you were here?’

‘Yup,’ Valius replied stolidly.

‘The same path you took when your last teammates died?’ Raza had to ask.

Valius didn’t even react. ‘That was an error in performance.’

A sigh rolled out. ‘What I’m trying to get out is you came this way, and you likely retreated this way, so there’s a good chance someone could have caught on to this and planned for it, say by putting traps or hiding someone in the bushes with a gun to come and kill us.’ Raza kept his eyes open for the unexpected.

Swatting at a swarm of insects, Karya cut in. ‘It doesn’t matter, they’re all up by the volcano because they’re shielded by radar. We have a ways to go before we see anyone.’

That couldn’t be right. Smugglers with any level of intelligence and/or professionalism tended to protect their territory. With the relative ease by which some helpless hiker or determined adventurer could just blindly muddle their way through the jungle and up to their home base it seemed pretty smart to… not let people do that. There was something to be said for planning.

‘How long had Annox and Vardi been on the team for?’ Raza eyed around for potential landmarks as he spoke.

Karya was still getting besieged by bugs, ‘Agh! I hate this place!’ With a furious turn she faced her new recruit. ‘A year and a half.’ A breath blew a pest off of her face. ‘They were good at their jobs, they just made! A! Mistake! Gah, stupid bugs!’ It was like watching a one-sided slap fight.

This drew the attention of Bethany. ‘Are you wearing perfume or something?’

‘No!’, Karya growled. ‘I mean I use hairspray but- agh!’ She was fed up. ‘I. HATE. This. Place.’

Bethany shrugged. ‘Maybe try not using hairspray.’

The raw fury of death incarnate formed in Karya’s brown eyes. ‘Do you want me to have an afro!? It will turn to frizz in minutes here!’ It was already a frazzled mess. Her hair had now grown to match her demeanour.

‘It doesn’t look like the hair spray did any good,’ Raza commented.

With a snort of rage Karya went silent. She had run out of snide replies. The trek then continued skating onward across the icy pause left in her wake. Even stranger plants began showing up the farther off the path they went. One appeared to be upside-down, growing a tree of intricate roots in the air. Disturbingly the branches moved on their own, extending and curling as if breathing. That looked like a plant to not be touched.

Stray thoughts still influenced the direction of Raza’s mind. Unshakeable questions fought to gain life. They won. ‘So we get our gems stronger by absorbing the energy of defeated creatures, right? So shouldn’t we be practicing against whatever we find so we’re capable enough to take these smugglers on without risking our lives?’

Boy was that a mistake. Valius toted his gun. ‘You either live or die. If you fail it’ll be your fault. Be good enough or be replaced.’

When their leader had turned away Bethany nudged Raza. ‘_You’re right, so you know. We should have trained for this._’

Now they were walking into doom. At least he could prepare a bit more. ‘How many of them are there, approximately?’

‘Roughly fifteen, thirty at the most,’ Valius replied coldly.

Those were not great odds. ‘What kind of weapons?’

‘Mostly automatic rifles and handguns.’ Valius really didn’t care, did he? This was suicide.

‘Please tell me there’s a cave or a secret passage or something,’ Raza pleaded. ‘We can’t just walk up there like this. You’re the only one of us with a long-range weapon and two of us don’t have any advanced gems or field experience.’

The captain waved it off casually. ‘Relax, I’ve got a plan.’

That meant literally nothing. Raza grimly shook his head. ‘What is this plan? If we don’t know then we’re liabilities. We’re likely to compromise it through ignorance alone.’

At least that made the man stop and think. For once Valius ceased in his tracks. He turned around, too. This must have been big. ‘Look,’ he said. ‘There’s a secret tunnel up ahead in the jungle that they don’t know about. They mainly move through the forest through the north, as far away from Zericon’s base as possible. The tunnel lets out to the south of their headquarters, which means they’ll assume we came from the south. Got it?’ Then he resumed his onward crusade. ‘And if you want a fight you can fight in the caves. Your dark kuri will find a lot of shadow creatures down there to feed on.’

That was great, but it still left Bethany out of the gains. She would either have to switch her element or hope she had some good spells on her. In terms of the gloves themselves it seemed like individual willpower was the determining factor in how fast the glove restored usage. Weaker spells as beasts drained it less. From what fragmented pieces of knowledge were left it felt right to assume that spells generally cost less to cast than creatures. Beasts were persistent and took a lot more energy than a one-time blast. There was strategy involved.

By the time Raza had managed to work out some more tactics they had veered even farther off the beaten path, down a creek, over a mound of broken trees, through a mound of unsettlingly moist bramble bushes, and to an overgrown stone structure hidden deep in the heart of nowhere. The dense ceiling of jungle trees had long since darkened the surrounding world to a near-black. The only light now came from the distant reaches of the more domestic path they had left behind.

Whatever this thing was, the plant life had long since dominated it. By the shape it could have been a hut or a shack left by some ancient tribe. Barring that it was some back door left when people retrofitted the island with modern stone-age tourist traps. Valius stepped over to what looked like a cellar and hoisted a stone slate up with both hands. Karya grabbed a nearby stick and propped it up. ‘In here,’ commanded Valius. There was only darkness, and the vague hint of stair shapes.

Seeing as the other two were busy holding it up Raza bit the bullet and ventured down into the darkness, step by step. Silence loomed like a million faces, leaning in tight. Sound was literally muffled. Hopefully they wouldn’t slam the lid shut and end the adventure here. Bethany blocked out the light next, heading down slowly.

‘Raza? How’s it looking?’, she asked. Even her voice was quieted by the air.

Considering he couldn’t see anything that was a fairly moot question. ‘Black,’ he responded matter-of-factly.

Karya and Valius were quick to head up the rear, signalled by two additional sets of faint footsteps and the quiet rock-grinding thud of the hatch slamming shut. They were now trapped, and blind.

A flash of light began to glow from a hand, illuminating Karya and everything around her. Now light bounced off of stone stairs winding down a narrow cavern tunnel. The walls had been carefully carved into a perfect cylinder, descending downward until the darkness once again consumed it.

Deeper down they went until the walls widened out into a clearing. The carefully hollowed passage grew more and more cavernous. Still, it had form. Pillars carved directly from solid stone supported a high ceiling adorned with shining stones.

_ Wait. _

‘Are those what I think they are?’ Raza stared up at what looked like gems embedded into the top of the tunnel.

Karya scoffed. ‘Yeah. Good luck trying to get to them. You can’t climb up there and the ceiling will collapse if you start attacking it.’

Over in her own corner Bethany shrugged. ‘You have a Dire Phoenix. Why don’t you fly up and get them?’ At least someone was thinking.

That smug sneer dropped from her face like a glass plate. Karya stared at Bethany, then Valius, then the ceiling, then Valius, then the ceiling. ‘Um.’

_ Wow, smooth. _ Raza bit down a smirk.

The redhead smoothed her distressed hair, deep in thought. ‘I guess that could work.’ She looked to Valius for feedback.

He in turn merely shrugged. ‘Go for it.’ He took a turn to the cave with his own gem, freeing his partner up to do her thing.

The pressure was now on for poor Karya. Raza shared a secret smile with Bethany. A teal gem was pulled out of her pocket, and Karya summoned her beast. That impressive flash of compiling light brought forth her beast, and Aero Dire Phoenix flapped impressively in the air. The two veteran teammates worked together again to lift Karya up high enough to climb on the beast’s back and get airborne. Now the game was on. Karya ascended just high enough to shakily stand up on the bird’s back without hitting her head on the ceiling. The girl’s body language told stories for tension. Falling wasn’t high on her agenda, based on her frequent stares back at the ground below. Thirty feet stood between her and the hard floor.

Still she managed to pick a few, and then a few more. After a couple minutes she descended and hopped off. Her Dire Phoenix unceremoniously broke down into teal light and returned to its gem, soon pocketed. The girl then held her spoils out for all to see. Something was off.

‘They’re empty,’ observed Bethany. About a dozen clear gems like diamonds caught the light. They had no assigned colour.

Karya began to chuckle. Suddenly a violent cackle split the crushing silence. ‘Yes! Now _ we’re _ in control of our earnings!’ She saved Raza the trouble of even opening his mouth to ask. ‘For the information of our deficient teammate here these are blank gems, which means we can seal captured energy into these instead of into the gloves, which the company takes and gives us five percent of. With these we can seal our own magic and beasts!’ The woman clutched the gems like priceless jewels. Hope shone in her chocolate eyes.

That actually made sense. Being made to buy pre-manufactured, company-designated gems from a vending machine meant they controlled what their staff had access to. This was a wild card. That brought a good question up, though: ‘What’s stopping us from just going out and finding or buying our own gems?’ Raza watched the team for answers.

‘Nothing,’ Bethany stated, 'but we have no money and we’re not allowed to buy from normal shops, just Zericon dispensers. And we could just pocket the blood gems if we successfully complete this mission but if we were discovered hiding seized property belonging to Zericon we’d be fined and demoted, and we only get credits to spend by completing missions or harvesting a lot of energy to trade in.’

‘So these are essentially black market treasures,’ said Karya, fawning over her find.

An uninvited hand reached over and grabbed nearly half. ‘That’s twelve. We get five a piece and you newbies get one each.’ A coin toss dispensed one to Raza, and one to Bethany.

‘But- _ agh_. I guess.’ Karya sighed under her breath. Her prize had been stolen away.

‘Don’t waste them on a snail or something useless,’ remarked Valius. ‘Now, there’s creatures down here you can practice on. Go wild.’

The adults had called recess. It was time to practice. Just a ways down the cave there were indeed strange creatures to be found. First to catch Raza’s attention were a cluster of glowing mushrooms in the corner. Considering they were moving like jellyfish it was fair to assume they were some kind of creature and not just casual life. According to what lore of the islands rattled around in his brain everything that lived, moved, breathed, and grew was made of energy that escaped from the mystic other-dimensional gates. Technically everything was open game to harvest. Was it right though?

Raza hesitated before drawing his whip on the innocent jellyfish mushrooms. They were neat. They definitely weren’t harming him.

The same could not be said for the stout, goblin-looking animate shadow that took the opportunity to run up and leap at his chest, claws bared. Animal drive took over. Raza automatically jumped away, but a second sweeping strike landed on the mark. Needle fingers sank into soft flesh. Now it was personal. A duck and roll loosened the being from his body, allowing Raza to draw his whip.

Over in the spectator stand Valius crossed his arms in disapproval. ‘Not impressive.’

Bleeding wasn’t a nice feeling. A crack of his whip levied a sharp lash into the creature, and right through. The tongue of the whip licked only stone.

‘It’s incorporeal,’ Karya jeered. ‘Use your cat! Darkness hurts darkness!’

So much for saving his energy. Raza dodged another shadow goblin sneaking up from behind and summoned from the night his Shadow Dire Kuri. The feline hissed at its enemy and took a swipe, this time hitting the mark.

Now the playing field was level. Dire had a meaning among the gem creature kingdom. Foul and fierce meant strong, and malicious. Violence had a purpose in battle. Here it bloomed into its own black rose of war. Like a two-foot lion the feline reared up and swatted at the Shadow Goblin. An unseen face was marred with scars. The kuri struck again, sinking fangs in deep, rending flesh.

Back on Raza’s side of the fight the first goblin lunged again. A dodge forced it away. It would have to wait its turn. His own creature’s gem was still palmed as he raised his glove to the mutilated corpse of the kuri’s first kill. Instead of flowing into the glove the black energy poured into the gem. Was that how it worked? Did it need matching energy to grow and evolve?

Now was the time to find out. With the pattern down he unleashed his cat on the next victim. It wasn’t a long fight.

From the cheap seats came another shout. ‘Hey, newbie,’ shouted Valius. ‘You see those glowing mushrooms? They’re Jellymush. They’d make a good addition to your collection if you use that empty gem. If you kill them all there should be enough there to form a full one. Just don’t get too close, they have paralysing stings.’

Raza licked the back of his teeth. ‘Why not.’ This was either going to go great or horribly. If they all burst out everywhere the first time he hit them this would rapidly turn into a nightmare. He called back his kuri and drew his whip. One crack landed square into the nest of the creatures. Over a dozen violently dispersed into the air like jellyfish. Roots became hundreds of fine tentacles, long and loose. _ Yup. _

‘Try not to die,’ Valius goaded.

Karya leaned forward. ‘Hey! You have Mindshock, right? Use it on them! It’ll stun them for a second!’

_ Okay. _ That he did. Instead of a purple flash energy burned like a purple cloud in his gloved fist. Energy charged and primed. The target was set. Flight soon turned to stunned wheeling in confused circles in the air as the Jellymushes lost direction. Raza lost no time cracking the whip until the beings turned into energy.

Now it was time for the gem. More black essence spilled forth through the air like shadowy tendrils. The clear gem was soon tainted a glowing black. Evidently they were Shadow Jellymushes. How many of them had he slain? They only looked like a cluster of harmless little mushrooms. There had to have been at least fifteen, that was a good number, right? He could have poured that into his kuri. Having a backup creature was a good idea, though. That stinging power had to be useful for something.

‘Not bad for a beginner.’ Without so much as a courtesy warning Valius picked up a stone from the floor and hurled it at the ceiling. Little glimmering dots became a storm of wings. A group of flapping, shrieking bats with glowing eyes dropped into the air in a frenzy.

The battle had only begun. Raza grit his teeth and readied his whip.


	7. Pale Reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seal Guardians is a story inspired by an unmade idea for a video game from the writer. Taking the same concept and spinning it in a new angle, this work found life as a written story instead, with new characters, a more complex plot, and uniquely original characters.
> 
> Now at their destination and ready for battle, the time comes for the team to face the fires of Mount Highmore, if things like a conscience and relative morality do not get in the way first.

Too many hours had passed, maybe half a day. Without any kind of timekeeping device it was hard to tell. If all the training would pay off was too soon to tell. Raza took a quiet breath from his huddled corner in the cave, at least at peace. His energy was long spent. Sore limbs ached to rest even harder than the nicks, cuts, scratches, and bites marking his flesh.

At some point dear captain had made the decision to strike at night under the mask of darkness. It would offset the odds a little. Any possibility that helped add probability to their favour was a welcome one. It didn’t have to leave bite marks on his ankles, though. Raza rubbed his sore legs. Were they really too poor to afford medical supplies? This sucked, a lot.

At least he had gotten some battle practice. The entire cavern was officially cleared of all life beyond their own presence. That was not a pressing guilt anymore either, after being stabbed in the butt four times by whatever those chirping ceiling plant things were that shot darts. Even more comforting was the assurance that it didn’t matter how many they killed because energy creatures just respawn over time anyway. In a matter of weeks things would be scuttling all over the place as if nothing happened.

Valius called out to his team. With a weary sigh Raza got to his feet and ambled over a little stone circle Karya had fashioned for them as a break area. Mostly she had just used it to lay back and fix her hair while mocking himself and Bethany.

As for the other new indoctrination, Bethany had managed to survive, and well in fact. As it turned out a large battle hammer was much more effective as a combat weapon than a whip. Close combat in a dark, cramped area with sudden and unforeseen obstacles wasn’t easy with a large, leather rope. How helpful it was of his seniors to sit back and constantly point that out all day, too.

‘So here’s the plan.’ At last there was wisdom to impart. Valius stood up the moment the others all sat down. ‘The passage up ahead is a winding trail that takes a sharp hairpin left and up. It’ll lead up to a cave opening where we’ll have to crawl through a narrow passage and try not to fall on our heads.’

‘It’s like being squeezed out of a sausage grinder,’ teased Karya. ‘Or a butt.’ She had to go there. _ Ugh. _

Surprisingly Bethany faced the elephant in the room. ‘How narrow? I mean I’m not massive but I’m not skinny. Am I screwed?’ She wasn’t overly large, to be fair, but the girl did have some sizeable hips on her, and a wide waist. If not in a skintight suit there would be a bit of a muffin effects to any pants she wore. Her thick legs had no thigh gap.

‘Valius got stuck at one point,’ Karya admitted hesitantly. Behind her stood fit, trim Valius. The only thing wide on him were his broad shoulders.

Poor Bethany pursed her lips. ‘Yeah, I’m not fitting through that.’ Resigned frustration tainted her weary tone. The woman rested her head on her hand.

‘We’ll work something out,’ Valius said immediately after. ‘We don’t leave teammates behind.’

Thought danced in Karya’s eyes. ‘Yeah, but how? If we make the hole bigger we’ll either get found or it’ll get found, and then we’re done.’

An ember of fire awakened in his eyes. ‘We all go or we all fail. I don’t expect dissent from you, Karya.’ Valius stared her down.

Karua sank into her seat. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, buckling instantly, if that wasn’t too slow an accurate response time. ‘I didn’t mean to question your authority.’

‘That’s right,’ he said back. ‘Now, we move out in five. Get everything ready. When we get up there we’ll be on a narrow ridge just below one of their lookout points. If we’re lucky we can catch them between patrols. If not, even better.’ He eyed the new boy. ‘Raza, that’s where you come in. If there’s someone there you use your Jellymush to stun him so he can’t move or speak. Then pull him off with your whip so he’s out of the way.’

So did Valius want him to kill people now?’ Raza really had no time or room to object. The plan carried on.

‘Then it’s just like last time. I’ll use my Shadewalk to get us close enough to gain cover behind their southern tower. We won’t make the same mistake we did last time: If we can’t get our hands on their supply and shut them down we’ll have to dump the blood gems into the volcano.’

‘An eye for an eye!’, snarled Karya maliciously, a dark smile tugging at the edges of her lips.

There were so many complications here, like for instance what the smuggler’s stronghold looked like, or their movement patterns. In the meantime, an idea came to mind. Actually, many did. ‘So what are blood gems?’, asked Raza.

Valius deigned to make eye contact. ‘They’re dirty gems that have been corrupted with too much power. When a beast becomes a blood beast it goes berserk and loses all control. It’d kill its caster without a second thought. They can’t be commanded.’

‘Their brains are exploding with rage and they’re unstoppable killing machines,’ added Karya, summing it up.

‘What would they be using them for? Who are these smugglers?’ Everything Raza could learn was vital right now.

Karya fielded this one. ‘They operate out of Genesis Island. They’re a group of aliens called the Antigon Alliance that escaped out of the Mystic Doors. They want to take over the islands and get all the gems and gloves for themselves so they can make an empire. You’ll recognise them right away because they’ve got a red and purple theme and have these antenna spikes on their helmets.’ At last she was done straightening out her hair. ‘They’ve also got these weird, humming prism-ball monsters that look like they’re four-dimensional. They’re super weird and hard to fight.’

Genesis Island was the one above Past Island, to the northwest. That meant that the smugglers didn’t have far to go. They were likely only working near the volcano and delivering all their shipments by boat. Why Zericon hadn’t just send a fleet of ships to blockade their sea route was a mystery. The only things that could account were a lack of firepower if Zericon were not as powerful as they claimed to be or if the sea was full of nigh-unnavigable razor reef. Both seemed plausible. After all, they were entrusting this task to four virtually faceless minions. Something was off.

Either way, there were contingencies. If they were operating near an active volcano they needed some air conditioning. That could be sabotaged. It was likely they had their discreet underground passages too, or even a mine. They wouldn’t be making treks across into the open parts of the island if the towns and cities were so untouched.

Time was up. The group had to move. Up the narrowing tunnel they went, stumbling and bumbling as Valius and Karya took turns trading off the leading light role, ensuring plenty of stubbed toes and face-first collisions with low-hanging outcroppings. Eventually the group reached the promised place where the tunnel abruptly ended. A vertical tunnel funnelled up and over, bending like a candy cane. Karya, currently in the lead, snuffed out her light and let blackness wash across the four. It was faint, like a trick of the light, but there was still a source.

Bethany stood and stared at the narrow exit. It was a grape in a tube of toothpaste. ‘So I’m screwed,’ she said.

‘We’ll open it wider,’ said Valius.

The blonde sighed. ‘Just… whatever.’ She wasn’t pleased. ‘Raza, go on ahead. You’re the skinniest.’

‘_No _ he’s _ not_!’, Karya furiously exclaimed.

Sudden hands grappled around Raza’s hips. An uninvited pelvis pressed in tight against his own, forcing bodily contact. A feminine chest grazed his body, and then a nose accidentally caressed his cheek, rapidly turning it shades best never revealed to the light of day. Karya pressed her hands firmly against his waist, sliding and patting up and down all over.

‘Hah! I’m skinnier by like, half a centimetre!’ All at once the girl released her hold and pushed the boy away. ‘So yeah, whatever, Raza can go first, I don’t care.’

For some reason it was hard to move, or react, or even think. Raza stood firm, arms raised like a robbery victim. It took a few seconds before his brain could once more process. ‘I’ll… yeah. Okay.’ Strange new feelings conflicted with the task at hand. Maybe it was best to get some fresh… volcanic ash-laden smoke.

The smell hit first, that sooty nightmare of caustic, lung-searing poison filtering into his lungs. The ground hit after that, as he reluctantly writhed like a worm out of the mildly jagged hole and only barely put his hand out in time to protect his skull from the hard stone three feet below. Raza upended into what was little more than a stony crawlspace in the side of the mountain. There was no room to stoop let alone stand, it was crawling from there on out. The boy cleared his mind with a muffled, ash-flavoured cough and stuck his head back up the hole.

‘I made it safely!’, he whispered.

‘Good, now check if there’s anyone watching!’ That was definitely the voice of Valius.

Raza sat back and leaned out from the tight slot of space sandwiching him between two thick slabs of rock. Down appeared to be a somersault death trip over a hundred feet down to a rocky end. Up however was a bit harder to scope out owing to the fact that it meant leaning out over nothing, to look over the lip of a three-foot chunk of rock, effectively forcing him to put his life at risk. So he did, crawling out like a salamander, completely unsupported, in the hopes that a pair of boots and a machine gun would not be staring him in the face.

There wasn’t- yet. Pure luck had decided that the sentinel would take the moment just before his arrival to turn and start walking in the opposite direction. Raza **LOW****ERED BACK DOWN**! Without falling! To his death… as a slipped foot nearly decided then and there. Raza slunk back into his little safety hole and sighed. Too many times in this one day his life had nearly ended. His hand clapped over his mouth. This wasn’t happening. He couldn’t be here. This was one day. Sweat poured from every inch of skin.

Footsteps neared. A calculating mind realised the very real possibility of being kicked in the face, or shot, or… dealing with Valius. Raza sighed. Now it was time to kill a man in cold blood. Right now he had no choice. He hid his glove in the hole to hide the light of the Jellymush and then prepared for the moment when the sound of feet neared. One more sombre sigh left him. _ I’m sorry. _

The cavern had taught a lot in a short time. One sting hurt. It also knocked a victim down for up to twenty minutes. Like a hunter the little cluster of glowing mushrooms rooted to the wall and slithered its way up to the top. It covered boot. It reached cloth pants and stopped caring about layers. Pants were enough. The faceless man instantly convulsed and fell over, hitting the edge of the ridge hard to his spine. Half on and half off, gravity did the rest of the work. Without warning a large man-shaped lump careened over the wall and down the hill. Raza silently put his whip away.

‘Um,’ he muttered up into the hole. ‘F-fr- uh… coast clear.’

Most of the exit from the secret tunnel came together with the threat of discovery removed. It was a lot easier for Valius and his Cerberan to noisily knock some rocks looks and open the path for Bethany. Up on the top ridge, Raza lowered his whip and pulled the team one by one. At last when Bethany was up and the whole group was reunited they moved along.

The ridge wasn’t just some rocky lip on the side of a mountain. Forming a bowl, a ring of stone encircled a massive pool of lava, dammed up at the base. A massive white-hit pier filtered the flow. This was only one piece of a larger area: The volcano rose up higher and higher, into cloud range. Smoke helped with that too.

It was easy to see how people could fall in, with only a fifteen foot wide ridge to walk across. Any fight here was bound to get dicey. The lookout tower in question that Valius had mentioned was nowhere near hidden. Over to the right of their little safety niche stood a building carved directly into the mountain. Black rock made a monument unseen to the world. At its top a sloping roof vented the heat. Theoretically someone was up there, fifty feet from the ground and looking out. If they couldn’t see any sentries, then hopefully the sentries couldn’t see the four of them.

Valius led the way, as was now nature. The only goal was getting up to that tower. ‘_They won’t be using the blood gems,_’ he muttered as he hunched and ran for cover. _It’s too dangerous. They’ll have whatever they have. If we hit this sentry tower hard and fast we can take control._’

The front door to the tower was unguarded. What was more, it seemed to be unlocked. Evidently they did not need locks in their own compound.

Valius hugged the wall by the door like a raid officer, ready to strike. ‘Gems primed. No lights or sounds, wait until we breach, then fire as soon as you see anything that moves. Don’t give them the chance to fight back.

The handle turned in Valius’ hand. A boot forced the metal door wide open.


	8. Thicker Than Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seal Guardians is a story inspired by an unmade idea for a video game from the writer. Taking the same concept and spinning it in a new angle, this work found life as a written story instead, with new characters, a more complex plot, and uniquely original characters.
> 
> The time for delay has ended. The struggle at last begins as the team of four brings the battle to the enemy. Fire and blood shall stain the rugged rocky expanse. How many souls can death claim in the smoking ash of a volcanic nightmare?

A stilled pause rose in the wake of the sudden, violent entry. The door slammed into the stone wall with excessive force. By the time it had sounded out, a volley of bullets found impact into a chest, an arm, and a table. One of three visible targets refused to fall.

There was no time to even react, let alone think, but any other course of action had immediately been denied. Raza was left with no choice but to charge and attack in the brief half a second of time allowed to him as the startled Antigon agent dove behind a stone bench. Raza did the same as far as was possible, ducking down and around to the far side of the bench. In half a second the enemy would probably fire.

A covering shot from Valius bought him a second. It was stupid. It was all senseless. Still, on command unspoken he readied his whip and hooked it around the corner at the space his foe would be. It missed the torso, and the gun arm. On the upside it had managed to wrap around the person’s neck.

Half a second later their hand turned his way. A sharp “snap” of their pistol left a pinpoint sting in his ribs. Without even looking his brain told him it didn’t pierce through his armour. It just hurt. The pain dropped him hard to his knees, impacting on unrelenting stone.

He wasn’t alone, though. The shadow of a grey-clad figure darkened his view. A rapid “tik-tik-tik-tik-tik” was let out as lightning surged from a metal rod, into the exposed lower half of the enemy’s face. It didn’t take much of that to knock them down and out. Karya had struck.

Over at the site of the other targets, Valius confidently strode up and unloaded a bullet into the face of the one with the injured arm. Their armour wasn’t quite as sophisticated. All three of the smugglers were soon incapacitated- or thoroughly and irreversibly dead, as the case may have been. That was the immediate area cleared, or at least hopefully. Valius wasted no time seizing the gems of his kills. Karya stripped her K.O. of their goods and glove as well.

These people were in a devilish red getup with black trim, as advertised. Their gloves were even a stylish black with red detailing. There was at least one intact uniform right in front of them. A few more would lead to the makings of a solid disguise.

As for this place, there wasn’t much to see. Grey stone bricks were placed in rows to make what would rapidly become the only thing not painful to stare at. Black bricks glowed at the mortar with veined red filler, like lava. The whole room glowed in the effect- every stone table, bench, chair, and sconce. Despite the bright, hellish glow emitted from every standing inch of the room, they still felt it necessary to fit every fifteen feet with an electronic light source.

It was also baking hot in here, slightly shielded from the volcanic heat by walls. If Raza had to posit any speculation it was likely those Antigon suits were more climate-adapted than these pieces of woollen crap.

‘Any cure for heatstroke?’ He had to ask. This was wearing on him fast and it had only been fifteen minutes.

‘Man up?’ This time Karya was the one dishing out verbal punishment. This was also from the same girl that was complaining about her frizzy hair not a full day ago,

Not wholly unnoticed, a set of grand stairs lined the walls, starting at the back right and climbing up the tower, turning at each corner. Fifty feet to the top was not looking so fun. It was happening anyway. Valius grabbed a corpse and began dragging it up the stairs.

Noticing that the whipped and tased victim was still alive, Bethany waved to her leader. ‘Hey, this one is still alive.’

He raised the gun. Now the poor sap wasn’t. ‘They’ll only come back and compromise the mission. We don’t get credited for bringing them back alive.’ Up the stairs he went, dragging a deceased ragdoll by the ankle. A helmeted head banged on every step.

Even Karya paused. ‘Uh- why are you-’

‘Up the stairs. Bring the bodies.’

_ Okay then. _ Warlord Valius had spoken. Bethany had been too nice to have to make her carry a corpse. Raza lifted his victim by the shoulders and hauled them along backwards. Karya was on her own.

About halfway up Valius let them drop the bodies precariously on the top of a landing between floors. ‘If anyone chases us up the stairs, kick the bodies down and trip them. If we’re lucky someone will fall off.’

This just devolved to new levels of horror. Bethany withheld a grim sigh and nodded gravely. Raza had no response to the situation, at all. This was apparently his life. Was it really worth it just to catch a group of what were essentially arms dealers? Why was there no backup? Before moving on Valius plucked a helmet from the head of one of the corpses.

After that nice little pit stop the team managed to ascend the rest of the tower. Where the stairs stopped the floor levelled out to a flat approach, leading to what looked a lot like a trapdoor. Valius stopped to switch helmets, hiding his back into his battle suit, and then pulled on the hatch. Not much happened, other than the appearance of some stairs. There was no ceremony or deadly barrage of bullets or lasers.

A helmeted face did poke out curiously from a corner, however. ‘Hey, you bring the tea?’

It took less than two seconds for Valius to hop up and unload a bullet into both that man and the unseen figure behind him on the other side of the area. He quickly disappeared up the stairs. A few moments later clothes, gems, gloves, and weapons tumbled down the hatch. ‘Clear,’ he said soon after.

Karya automatically sorted through the gems. ‘Bad, bad, no, ew, blah, suck, suck, lame.’ She pocketed them anyway. ‘They evidently rely on their weapons to fight, because these are all really low-level. The only thing they’re good for is trading in for points.’

‘Is that what all of this is about?’, asked Raza irritably, ‘getting points? Are we just doing this to be better than our rivals?’

Bethany placed a calming hand on his shoulder. ‘We also need to earn points to get medicine and better equipment, remember.’ The plump girl shrugged inconspicuously. ‘_I know. Just… hold in there. It gets better._’

For her he would try. There were few alternatives available to him at this point in anyway. ‘Okay,’ complied the tan one. ‘So what now?’

Their leader was never at a loss, so it seemed. He leaned onto the stone railing, overlooking the lake. ‘Now we find out where they’re harvesting the blood gems from and shut it down.’

Questions had to be asked. ‘How is this different from the last time you were here?’, asked Raza. Bethany watched the elder two for a response as well, equally as curious.

‘We messed up and got caught as soon as we got up on the ledge. That was when we had to fight for our lives and our old teammates fell into the lava.’

Numbers added up. ‘They have to be harvesting them from inside the volcano,’ Raza suggested. ‘Why else would they create an open-air reservoir here, out of the way, unless they needed to divert the flow to explore the lava tunnels?’ It made more sense than anything else. ‘Or second option that dam they built feeding the reservoir is a giant filter and the gems are in the lava. Maybe they’re made there or maybe someone threw them in. I don’t know.’

‘Gems aren’t made in lava,’ Karya explained, for once not maliciously. ‘You have to create them with energy. They could be thrown in though, that makes sense if somebody wanted to get rid of them.’

Another part of this stood out. ‘If we do succeed, what will happen to the gems? You implied Zericon will lay claim to them, but why? What will they do?’

‘Stop Antigon from getting them,’ said Valius. ‘Your idea’s worth a shot. We need to get closer.’ The man wheeled around in place. ‘So Karya, you decide: Do we use these uniforms and try to sneak in or do we just go in guns blazing?’

They were leaving this up to her? Only her? Nobody else got a say? Karya mulled it over. ‘Their armour really sucks, and I’m super not in love with the idea of not being shot to death.’

‘Blazing it is,’ said Valius.

Once more today Raza and Bethany shared a grim exchange of glances. They were just along for the ride… all the way back down the tower and out to the boiling toilet bowl of fiery red death. As the group filed out into the sweltering open air the realisation hit hard again that it was a lot hotter outside. Thermo suits would have been lovely right now.

Across the rim of the lava reservoir the team crept toward the dam situated at the edge of the mountain itself. The white-hot metal structure leaked streams of glowing black and red like jets. Where the reservoir drained into or where the endless flow came from was still a mystery. They were definitely not the only ones in the area: More red-suited Antigon agents patrolled the area, unphased by the temperature.

By now they were in visible range. Whatever magic spells Valius had intended to cast were evidently forgotten as he strode right up and lifted his gloved hand. A brilliant silver flash of light erupted forth with a slew of silver needles. Chiming echoes harmonised over the roaring gurgle of lava. Gravity-devoid shrapnel quickly collided like an implosion. From the force formed a set of armour, complete with a lance and winged helmet. Spikes and a metal, layered scale cape adorned its hollow shell. Metal Dire Death Knight saluted before swinging its barbed lance and charging. Plans went hurtling out the window, strapped to jet rockets, wearing alarm bells.

Surprise of surprises, the distant Antigons grouped together and raised their automatic weapons. This time they actually used their gloves. Karya had been right: Prismatic spheres side-shifted into reality, compiling into 4D messes of perceptual pain. Staring at them hurt.

Petty desire drove a new need into creation. Deep in the depths of his panic Raza found time to feel envy. He needed to collect one of those things. They looked neat. It bent the brain to stare at them, but they were neat.

Karya was next. Phoenix be forgotten, a blast of white unleashed an arctic chill in a whirlwind blizzard. Ice crystals formed large stones of hail. Pointing a gloved finger, she sent the Arctic Wind toward the enemies. As it hit two of the five visible foes lost their footing and tumbled back, off the edge and into the volcano.

‘That’s what you get for going against us!’, screamed Karya. Raw malice possessed her voice with acid. Hate bloomed in her eyes, latching onto every last one of her foes.

The silver-clad warrior beast was stopped in its tracks as a trio of buzzing alien spheres visually glitched and wavered like hot air. Nothing about them moved. Still, something happened. The death knight reeled and twisted, fighting some unseen influence.

Karya countered with another spell. Out from her hand grew a colossal ball of rock, lifting into the air and hurtling toward the foes. She didn’t aim for the beasts.

Instead of hitting its target the humming spheres hummed louder. Directly above them the Meteorite shattered into pieces. A rain of cosmic stone peppered down here and there. From that distance who knew what it even hit.

‘I hate these things!’, Karya hissed. So the spheres were stronger than she had given them credit for. The girl desperately fished around for some better options.

Seeing as he only had four gems to choose from, it had to be something useful. Sometimes desperation was a useful tool. Others, fear of failure replaced the carrot with the stick. As a spray of bullets winged past and clipped his shoulder Raza grunted and dropped to the ground. Being shot hurt no less for bouncing off instead of going through flesh. Those gunners were the only real problem, the rest were just the symptom of their presence. One of his teammates had to have something good.

‘Do either of you have a wind spell or teleportation or something?’ Raza’s voice bordered on demanding.

‘I have a wind blast,’ said Karya. ‘Why?’

From down on the stone floor Raza forced back the pain. ‘I have my jellymush stun them for a minute if you can get it over there fast enough. I don’t think it can clear those Antigonids on its own.’

Karya shrugged. ‘That’s all you have!?’

Bethany pitched in. ‘I can cast a Light Shield on it so it won’t get shot as much.’

‘And I can stun the guards with Mindshock beforehand, or at least one of them. Anything’s better than nothing!’ It hurt so bad. The bones in his shoulder and arm may have been bruised. Before the girls could object Raza weakly fished through his pocket and pulled out his purple gem. It was at least a plan.

Even across the thirty foot distance he was able to lock on to one of the Antigons. In that moment one of the spheres stopped attacking Valius’ knight. It was now or never. Stupid plans were the most overlooked.

Raza summoned a cluster of conjoined mushroom jellyfish. Bethany cast a shining shield. Karya called forth a wind. The floating fungi were picked up like a frisbee and hurled cannonball-style across the battlefield. Now came precision and chaos. From his laying position Raza watched the glowing little sun ball hurtle into range of the soldiers. They opened fire. One suddenly dropped. Then did the other. Two of the Antigonids vanished from the fight. Alone, one on one, the battered knight tore through its single foe before falling apart like smeared pixels in the wind. Whatever they had done warped it heavily. The silver gem reformed in Valius’ glove.

Gunshots echoed out, and then some more. In the aftermath four were still alive. Valius and Karya wandered over to raid the bodies, pushing the empty, left-over vessels into the pool of fire. Bethany took the time to help Raza back up. A Healing Water from her gem collection caressed his wounds. Soothing water floated like a bubble all over his clothed skin, easing the pain to a gentle numbness.

‘Thanks,’ he said as she hefted him like a sack of potatoes. ‘We almost died.’

With a smile the woman laughed. ‘Yeah. That was really clever thinking.’

Raza shook his head. ‘No, Valius told me to catch that one, he knew what he was doing.’

When he could stand on his own she left go, carefully watching. ‘You thought of this plan.’

Yeah, he did. With that in mind there was something he needed to address. Raza and Bethany headed back over to their teammates by the white-hot dam. The roar was a waterfall right in the ear. ‘Hey!’

Valius nodded. Karya shouted something unintelligible.

‘I want one of those Antigonid gems!’

‘What?’

‘Gems! Round thing!’ They could just move away from the full audio rock concert directly next to their ears.

Karya caught on. ‘They’re worthless! You can’t-’ ** _glurch_ ** ‘-them with Zericon gloves and-’ ** _blorbelorp_ ** ‘-work because they need-’ ** _blip_**.

None of that came through. After a second Valius pressed a gentle hand on Karya’s shoulder. He grabbed one of the gems directly from her pocket and tossed it to Raza with a nod, mouthing something that he didn’t even bother to try and make audible at this decibel range. It was three words, whatever he said. If amateurish lip reading counted for anything it probably sounded something like “so hard, and”.

Either way, a prize was a prize. Raza caught the pink jewel and clutched it with pride. Now, there was work to do.


	9. Feel The Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seal Guardians is a story inspired by an unmade idea for a video game from the writer. Taking the same concept and spinning it in a new angle, this work found life as a written story instead, with new characters, a more complex plot, and uniquely original characters.
> 
> The hints of video game show through again as the team reaches their first boss battle. With some minor grinding and next to no practice, can they make it out alive?

Now things got serious. The white-hot dam glowed like an inferno over a cavernous opening of stone. As they walked in, weapons ready, answers unfolded. Four massive transparent pipes fed molten rock through and out into the manmade lake of fire, each set into lowered grooves in the ground. A tunnel led deeper in, following the source of the tubes. Thankfully there were generous stone walkways on either side, wide enough to avoid bursting into flame through mere proximity. The four at least had a valid direction to travel in now, and a goal.

This mission had been nothing but a blind dart toss so far. Why did they even attack the sentry tower if Valius was just going to run up and attack them anyway? And what was with him talking about using spells for stealth? That was immediately overlooked. It was hard to shake the feeling that their darling leader was making it all up as he went along. The ways this spelled “inevitable death” were now innumerable.

Up ahead was all piping and a mechanically-drilled cavern. Industrial metal staircases had been been bolted to the sides of the walls, leading up to walkways and what looked like doors. The area had been domesticated, inside a volcano. It was looking more and more likely that the lava was being diverted to hunt for gems, if that was even the end goal anymore. There was a lot more work going into this than was necessary for some simple magical minerals. So far those ten were the only ones guarding this colossal place it seemed unlikely they had cleared everyone out. There was no way there were only fifteen to thirty people operating this whole setup.

It was hard to hear too much over the sound of the pipes. Anyone could strike at any time. When Valius suddenly broke off to climb the nearest staircase he left himself utterly exposed. This was insane. He went up anyway and tried the door, to no success. It was locked.

When he came back down Raza leaned in close. ‘Can I have a word?’

‘No.’ Valius moved forward.

That wasn’t acceptable. ‘Valius, none of this adds up.’ Raza didn’t leave time to argue. ‘Fifteen people? There’s guaranteed fifty here! And this, all of this! This doesn’t make sense for any reason! Why are they draining a volcano!? It’s not for gems, not if you can get them on the street!’

‘Blood gems are dangerous!’ Karya had her leader’s back.

‘But for this? Dig a hole, then! They- agh. This! All of this makes no sense! We’re either walking into a trap or we found a homeless gang of morons squatting on a semi-abandoned mine!’

Valius bit his lip irritably. ‘I’m doing the best I can! Lay off!’

The man really was just guessing as he went. This was insane. ‘Do you even know what we’re doing here!?’ Raza spread his arms, provoking a response- _ any _ response. Anything was better than this.

A set of knuckles hit cheekbone, hard. Raza spun on his heels. ‘If you think you can do better, then do it!’, shouted Valius, panting with rage.

This time Bethany didn’t help him up. Maybe Raza deserved that. ‘Look, I’m sorry! I’m sorry. I’m- I’m angry and lost, and… none of this makes sense. This is some kind of refinery or something, and the technology here isn’t something a small group could set up. If you don’t know anything about this then it’s not supposed to be here, right!?’ He climbed to his feet on his own. Surprisingly for the sweltering heat the ground was only fairly warm. This wasn’t right either.

‘We’re doing what we can, you whiny little prick!’ Karya thrust an accusing finger up against Raza’s nose. For good measure she kicked him square in the shin too.

At this point anything was game. ‘Feel the walls!’, shouted Raza. He grabbed her hand and slapped it onto the stone.

Bethany recoiled in horror, letting her jaw fall agape. Karya shrieked, pulling her poor appendage away for her safety. It took her a terrified moment to pause and feel her skin. It wasn’t scorched.

‘So!? It’s warm,’ Karya shouted back. Slight realisation began to dawn.

‘The only heat in this mountain is coming from the lava in these tubes!’ Raza looked to Bethany with a gentle nod, prompting her with his eyes to try it herself.

She did, and then sighed. ‘It’s not hot.’

Heading up the front, Valius shrugged. ‘So what? We still have a job to do!’

‘All I’m saying is I think this volcano’s not… I don’t know, not as active as it looks.’ Raza tried to piece it all together. ‘How did you get the information that they were smuggling blood gems?’

Karya raised a defeated, questioning hand. ‘Other teams in Genesis Island have caught them, and so have the local authorities.’ She got impatient again. ‘Where are you going with this?’

‘I don’t know yet,’ Raza defended,’ but I’m saying this is all off. Where’s the security, or any of the others here? They’re nowhere! Like I said, it makes no sense!’

With a roll of his eyes Valius grabbed Karya’s wrist and started walking. ‘We’re wasting time, let’s just go find out!’

_ With no real plan, okay. _

Let’s go. As they progressed down the tunnel, past more stairs and doors, there were still no people. There was nothing, just more empty tunnel. This made less and less sense now.

Some fifty feet later the lava tubes had disappeared under the stone and the floor levelled out. Here and there the blackened stone floor turned pitted and coarse. New layers had burned and formed again and again, as if lava had spilled and cooled countless times. The ceiling dipped and warped, narrowing the walls as melted overflow had hardened all around. Another thirty or so feet later saw the tunnel end, with a great metal door, maybe fifteen feet wide all around. “Open” or “closed” didn’t apply exactly to it: Large steel shutters had been melted clean through from the inside. Hardened, reinforced steel was encased in cooled lava. The frame was no longer visible. Just at the opening it was crouching room only, between the rising floor and the melted shutters.

The gang had to pause here, at least to form a single-file line. ‘What happened here?’, Bethany had to ask, rightfully. It was at last quiet enough to hear each other again.

‘If I had to guess it looks like this is some sort of emergency spill gate.’ Karya stared at the result. ‘It looks like it didn’t work.’

A shrug was all Valius elicited. ‘I’ll go first. If it’s a trap you’ll know.’ He promptly crawled into the narrow gap and through. He quickly found lower ground and stood up, revealing only legs and a waist to the three onlookers. Evidently it opened up on that side. He wandered out a few paces and leaned over what looked like a railing.

Then he came back and waved the crew in. ‘The area’s clear of Antigons but we’ve got a monster in here, like some kind of fire dragon. It’s massive. It looks like it’s hooked up to pipes. Come check.’

That was by far not the most reassuring invitation to meet the ears. It was actually a bit surprising but Karya went next. Bethany and Raza watched as she slid through and ran over to Valius’ side, putting a hand on his back and leaning over to look at whatever he found.

‘_Methinks she likes the boss,_’ murmured Bethany playfully.

‘Something that makes sense for once,’ Raza replied, actually chuckling. Small entertainments were a blessing in this mad time. But now it was back to the ludicrous mission at hand. ‘I’ll go next.’ Bethany could definitely fit through this hole. After climbing through Raza waited diligently and offered a helping hand. It was accepted.

This was definitely a scene of change. Marvel overtook him as Raza glanced around. This was no volcano at all. Massive stone walls had been carved out and reinforced with metal supports, all the way around, forming a cone shape all the way up to what appeared to be a smokestack, fed by countless pipes. This was a building, dressed in stone and jungle trees. Rows of stone and metal walkways formed rings around the walls, above and below. This was just one exit, connected to four lava drainage tubes. Over a dozen more sets led off into various other places.

Raza and Bethany slowly wandered their way over, each a little stunned. Eyes peered over the safety rail and down into the depths. A little became a lot.

Down in the depths slept the beast. Fifty- a hundred feet tall, more, a scaled colossus slumbered in a lake of magma, fresh and hot. A long neck connected to a horned head that rested on a walkway, managing to dwarf it enough to have completely destroyed it. Only shoulders and above were visible of the beast, save for the tips of several sets of membrane wings. Every tube in the cave descended down into the liquid stone, maybe hooked up to the beast maybe twenty floors below.

‘Wow’ was about all the response Raza could manage. It took him an honest moment to realise the word came from his own mouth. What did this even mean? Who had done this? Was this some effort by the island to simulate an active volcano for commercial purposes? Did someone do this to… nothing? No ideas why were able to form.

Bethany added more insight. ‘If it did this to the door, let’s not wake it up.’ More and more the details became clear, with melted and ravaged platforms showing up on every floor.

Keener eyes saw even more. ‘What are those black wires attached to its neck?’ Karya pointed to the vague detail with her finger.

‘I don’t know,’ said Valius lastly. ‘It could be sedatives, or the’re draining its life force to pollute gems.’

Karya heaped herself onto the speculation dogpile. ‘That could explain why there were like, no guards. We found one wing of a massive operation and this fire dragon torches anyone that gets close.’ She made sure to shoot a snide look at Raza.

‘At least it’s starting to make sense now,’ Raza shot back.

She wouldn’t let off. ‘If you’d waited like twenty minutes to have a freakout we’d have been here and you could have saved yourself getting hit.’

Bethany pushed her way between the two. ‘Okay, enough. It’s over,’ she ordered irately. ‘Now what are we going to do?’ At least someone was thinking straight.

At this moment in time red-purple suits began to file out of doorways below. A few of them seemed to have handheld tablets and devices. They scanned the cord attached to the dragon’s neck.

‘I say we take the fight to them,’ suggested Valius, not missing a beat. All at once three heads turned to fix on the speaker. Valius stared back, utterly and completely oblivious. ‘If we wake it up and send it on the warpath they’ll have to come deal with it. It’s a distraction and we’ll probably see a few Antigons get killed.’

‘And us.’ Karya’s brown eyes glimmered with real worry. ‘It probably melted everything here. We’d die.’

The man drew his pistol. ‘Run if you want.’ All three others instinctively backed up. Valius leaned over the rail, took aim, and squeezed off a shot.

A little metallic “ping!” bounced off its scaly hide, completely unnoticed. Antigon suits looked around confused for the source of the mystical sound. He tried another. This time it must have hit something a bit softer. An eyelid twitched, then opened. One yellow eye lazily scanned around. Half a second later a vertical pupil widened to a black moon as it set its sights on four figures far up above.

‘Alright, it’s awake.’ Valius drew a gem from his collection. ‘Let’s get this started.’

Really, it already had. Down in the fiery abyss the creature stirred and got up. Ringed platforms buckled under the weight of two feet as the beast hoisted itself up. It began to climb.

Karya backed away on the double. ‘Wh- what now!?’ It was getting closer.

‘We provoke it.’ Valius summoned his cerberan. A crunch from below promised carnage to an unseen walkway.

Bethany looked at Raza. Raza looked at Karya. Karya looked at Bethany. Entire platforms were ripped loose of their bonds to the wall. What was broken was now bent into diagonal wedges, turning whole platforms into jagged slides of death. As the beast’s head raised to meet their level Valius unleashed his beast upon the dragon.

‘You run,’ he shouted, pointing to the left, where previous carnage had left a gaping hole in the walkway. ‘Get down to another level, attack its belly. I’ll draw its fire from here.’ How long could that last before he got inevitably incinerated?

Orders were orders. Despite the fact that “prey drive” was a valid term Raza broke into a blind sprint for the hole in the floor. As expected it turned its head toward the little fleeing target making for the distance. Its attempted response attack was cut short though as the Dire Cerberan unleashed a three-headed volley of flame at the creature. That drew its ire.

By then Raza had dropped down the ten feet to the floor below and stunt rolled to safety. What he was supposed to do now was bafflingly vague. Karya followed a second later, landing on her feet and banging her knees on the ground.

‘Bethany’s staying with Valius. We need someone strong on each half!’ She summoned her dire phoenix and cast the bird out into the open. At her command it swung around and attacked the dragon’s black-ridged back.

The two kept running. This was… all improvisation, and stupidity. The dragon was having none of it as the bird pecked at its back. It craned its massive neck and let loose a horizontal tower of magma, jetting out like projectile vomit. The mental image was lasting. The phoenix dodged by feet alone. Ambient heat began to burn its wings.

They needed a plan of some sort. The… the… floors led where? Nobody knew! The other heavily-shuttered doors were unlocked, right? Nobody knew! The room was a giant, flame-filled cone. All there was to see were tubes and pipes. There was- there was that unknown tube. It was something. Emerald eyes furiously scanned for where in the wall the cord in the dragon’s neck connect-

Where the swinging, severed tube leaking starfire red fluid connected to. It was eight floors down from where Valius and Bethany made their plausibly final stand. Bethany was at least nice. Having to dig her molten bones out of a mound of lava rock didn’t exactly appease his conscience. Raza loaded up his Shadow Jellymush and sent it after the dragon as a further distraction.The source of that tube was their new target, because he decided so. A gap in the floor fifty feet across the room was their next ticket down a level. He tapped Karya on the shoulder and pointed.

Over behind them some thirty feet back Valius and Bethany made it down to their floor. They wasted no time running at breakneck pace to catch up. One floor up the Flaming Dire Cerberan launched another assault of flame, doing nothing more than mildly annoying the dragon. Its real target was the wounded bird making strikes at its neck. Meanwhile a sad little cluster of glowing mushrooms inched its way through the air toward the titanic monster, moving about a centimetre a second.

Energy was soon recalled to Valius’ glove, suggesting his own pet had been killed. He drew another gem and called out a new beast one floor above, as far away as possible. This time in a whirlwind of flame, a fiery red werewolf howled and breathed life. The Burning Dire Garuna wasted no time, immediately hurling fireballs at the dragon.

By now the phoenix had reached the end of its rope. Embers burned in its fragile wings. One more pass saw it give out and plummet to its death. Karya mercifully recalled it before it hit the magma below. Next up in her repertoire was a glowing white flash. Dire Simala awoke in a cloud of dawn light. It was just some little thing with a blinding golden-white body, no bigger than a crane. It looked like a baby phoenix. The bird swept around in artful circles, cooing and singing. Trails of light remained behind as it made its path, and slowly grew out like ivy. It began wrapping around the dragon.

Another floor down.

Molten spew erupted from the dragon. Unfortunately it followed the path of the bird, hurling lava across the platform above. Suddenly it was a waterfall of flame curtaining over the ceiling above as the four ran. Holes in the floor leaked it through. Karya hesitated, then jumped. Raza took a breath, and then jumped. It only took a drop. A coin-sized gobbet broke timing and landed on his back.

Fire, pain, death wanted to come as the screams tore loose from his body all on their own. His disintegrating back arched in automatic reaction, as every muscle began to writhe. Valius vaulted past and kept running. Only Bethany stopped to help him up.

_Something, anything, please. Make it stop._ Bones were on fire. _Please no. Please._ Raza desperately fumbled around for his green gem and cast Healing Leaf as Bethany dragged his body by the waist, forcing him to move along. Little green vines sprouted from his weakening fist and wrapped around his arm, up to his back. It did nothing at all. Pain seared through his chest. Tears dropped to his chin.

They ran anyway, and reached the third floor down. Raza landed on his side with a thump. Karya was the one to pick him up. A glove slapped onto his wound. He screamed.

Healing Wind enwrapped his skin. Burning agony began to ease to an angry throbbing. It was tolerable, for now. ‘Next time don’t waste your time with useless spells!’,’ she shouted back, already sprinting ahead.

Bethany pushed him along. Now the poor little white bird sang its last song, caught in an angry sweep of the dragon’s claws. Its white barbed wire trails instantly faded away. It was up to Valius now.

Somewhere out there a lone jellymush meandered ever closer, completely unaware of such a concept as urgency.

_ Four floors down. _

Bethany summoned her dire prucchi for some reason. It hopped up onto a railing and stared at its new nemesis. They ran for a nearby hole.

_ Five, three more. _

At last Karya’s glove had recharged. She called out a teal fox, taking shape as it rode the wind on a little cumulus cloud. It was some mutated form of an Aero Dire Zeyvar. Three bushy tails all with fanged faces snapped and snarled. This one could apparently run on a cloud, so it did. She sent it to go on the attack.

_ Six. _

There went the werewolf, now turned back into energy. How they would never know. With nothing else available he summoned his death knight to… do something. It clanked and rattled one floor above.

_ Seven. _

At last the jellymush grew close. Before it could make bodily contact, its soft flesh burst into cinders. It was turned back into energy, returning as a sad, spent little gem in the palm of Raza’s glove.

It wasn’t even nearly over. The gang hesitated at the approach of four Antigonids, spawning from the air itself ahead. The round, humming spheres buzzed like speaker static on high. What choice did they have? They had to fight. Maybe. Raza glanced over the ledge. It was maybe ten feet down. Half a dozen Antigon Agents watched.

This was stupid. This was suicidal. It was all he had. One last idea hit Raza upside the head. He vaulted over the railing and down without a lick of hesitation. Shocked faces watched him leave. There was only about a second and a half maybe to break his arms grabbing the railing. If he missed he was dead. Determined limbs screamed in pain as metal jarred the underside of his forearms. He connected. There really was no time for pain, just blind, stupid hope.

One hand drew a whip. One summoned Dire Kuri, witch hat and all. He lashed out at the first target in sight. Kuri wove sharp and fast underfoot, and climbed a target. That was at least two distracted. A volley of machine gun fire hammered him in the chest, dropping him to his knees. He guarded his uncovered mouth with an arm.

One dropped. A gunshot pierced their chest from somewhere above. Valius was watching. Another shot followed suit. Up above two Antigonids stopped humming. Another Antigon fell into a pool of his own blood as the razor cat on his face expressed its wrath. All that training had paid off. In seconds following another was shot in the chest by friendly fire when his ally unloaded a clip in a vain attempt to shoot the shadowy feline. Darkness wasn’t harmed by melee. That was five.

The last stamped on Raza’s back with a vengeance. There went his control. The kuri wavered and faded as consciousness circled the drain. The man on his chest rolled him over. The barrel of their gun knocked Raza’s helmet off.

_ Life was unfair. _

A hand pulled the attacker’s ankle out from its place. The man fell back into the railing. Deep inside, through charred flesh and seething pain, heat lifted his body. Hurt turned to hate. Force was enough to move him one last time, as Raza cartwheeled and planted a vicious foot into his enemy’s helmeted face. Their head knocked back hard.

** _Die._ **

Adrenaline allowed for no mortal mistakes or hesitation. Like an animal, Raza grabbed the gun from their hand and swung it like a club, again and again. Ribs cracked. A skull fractured, even under the alien helmet. That foreign jaw broke, spilling teeth. It only stopped when a hand grabbed the tool from behind.

Still Raza tried in vain to take another swing. Furious breaths panted out like a monster. Raza fell back on his buttocks as the weapon was taken away.

Nice work, kid.’ Valius tossed the compressed clip-form weapon over the ledge and grabbed Raza’s collar. The world blurred. Everything else was hazy.

Footsteps hurried, timed to a dragon’s roar. The team hurried through a door. A stranger in red and purple stepped out from behind a corner and was body-checked by Bethany. Before the victim could speak Karya dealt him an uppercut to the jaw and kicked them out into the volcano room. She quickly hit the big red button on the controls by the open shutter door.

The last view from behind was a screaming man cowering against a closing shutter, before the lava breath hit the wall.


	10. "The Right Angle"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having survived the nightmare in the volcano, Raza now faces a new threat in the form of the antigonids, and their bizarre machinations.

Raza hit the floor, limp as a scarecrow without a spine. There was no time to stop, so of course his forehead ground against the, well, ground, as he continued to be dragged along. That was a lovely second and a half. The melting metal shutter threatened to flood the hallway, fleeing for dear life was mandatory. Further down the hall yet more Antigons popped into view- in white and grey uniforms this time. They wasted no time drawing their gems and promptly getting shot square in the face and chest. Bethany for once drew her war hammer and cracked some bones. Alive these foes remained, but not in any good shape. At least, Bethany’s lived anyway. There was no fixing bullet holes.

Lava began to ooze forth from the now dead safety door. It was at least slow enough to merely walk away from at a casual pace. They were probably far enough, but safety was safety.

As the best possible facsimile of safety lazily and apprehensively reared its head realisation wafted through his brain. Raza looked around bleakly. ‘Where’s my helmet?’ As if he didn’t know already.

Bethany allowed herself a sad little half-grin. ‘It made the ultimate sacrifice.’

He glanced about here and there again, focusing on the fresh corpse on the floor. ‘Do you suppose Antigon helmets are bulletproof?’

‘Let’s find out.’ Valius knelt down to the Antigon in the corner and pressed his gun point-blank to the headwear. A sharp “crack” blistered the air. The helmet shattered like porcelain, sending pieces everywhere. That was a no. What was left rolled to the shooter’s feet like a broken eggshell. Valius tossed it to Raza. ‘Don’t wear this one.’

The black-haired youth picked it up as daintily as possible. ‘Gee, thanks.’

Karya managed to subsequently laugh so hard she snorted. ‘That’s so freaking pathetic, I love it. Oh, that made me smile.’ She sidled up to their leader and hung off his shoulder. ‘Valius, I love you.’

He immediately took a step to the side, letting Karya fall on her face. Without more than a strained sigh she climbed up to her knees. She smacked Raza’s hand away when he offered help, and then bit her lip. The girl simply sat there for a pensive moment with her hands on her lap.

There was no hesitation as Raza once again extended a welcoming hand to lift her up, admittedly after rubbing his wrist where she slapped it. This time malice frosted her chocolate eyes as Karya bit her lip. Suddenly two hands pushed on Raza’s knees, hard. He hit the floor like a skinny sack of malnourished potatoes.

‘Don’t,’ Valius said automatically. His back turned, he grabbed Bethany’s arm on her way to help Raza, pulling her along. ‘We move now. Let’s end this mission.’

Raza and Karya got up on their own and each began plodding along behind. Innocent puppy dog eyes clashed with a sour glare of death.

‘Fine,’ snapped Raza. ‘Be a shrew.’

Karya’s boot rammed into Raza’s hip with a fury. Into the wall he went, bare head banging on the metal wall. There was a headache in the making. Just for a sweet moment the instinct awoke to strike back. How long had it been since he had a gun in his face, a minute? Less than that. It faded quickly.

Up ahead was no basic hallway carved into stone. Bar lights illuminated chromed steel walls and ceilings, ventilated with real grates and fans. This wasn’t just some cave anymore. A cement floor had been poured and levelled in separate slabs like a giant sidewalk. Despite the blazing furnace now puking heat into the hallway from behind it wasn’t insanely hot in here. Whoever built this place had some common sense- apart from opening the main lobby into a fire furnace of death inhabited by a giant, invincible killing machine that can vomit lava. That was potentially a design flaw, just maybe.

After some walking the path led to a fork in the road, and a choice that Valius had just superseded by wandering straight on forward, negating all choice. In the few seconds Raza had in passing to view the very real and plausibly helpful signs on the wall, only to discover they had been blacked out and smeared over with a collage of reds and sunset yellows like an oil painting. That was just plain not helpful in any sense. Maybe the leader had a point in just marching onward blindly.

Eventually this blur of endless hallway ended in a single glass door, smeared over in kindergarten reds and yellows. A pattern was beginning to form. The group paused at this new roadblock. One hopeful detail existed in the presence of a little card slot beside the door. Sadly it too had been vandalised and filled with paint.

‘Um, so how do we get through this?’ Bethany touched a hand to her chin in thought.

Then Valius drew his gun. ‘Like this.’

‘Wait, you don’t know what’s on the other side, and the glass could be-’

A “ping” and “zong” filled the hallway. A bullet fractured the safety glass and bounced off of the floor, barely missing Valius’ ankle.

Karya snapped. ‘Fffff- dagh! Watch what you’re doing! You almost killed one of us!’

There was no hesitation in his actions as Valius primed his seemingly endless pistol for another shot. It really never seemed to run out of ammunition. Like a cartoon sketch dust was practically left in the wake as his teammates sprinted down the hallway a good fifteen feet. Karya ducked behind Bethany for cover, in true respectful manner. To be fair Raza and Bethany had carefully forced themselves into the rough area of fire that would be eclipsed by the shooter’s body mass. It seemed fair.

One, two- three- five- finally seven bullets left his gun this round. The first two bounced. The third to fifth began to make damage. Six broke through. Seven tore the hole wider. He didn’t stop, ever. ‘Bethany, hammer,’ he ordered.

At this point Bethany had to stop and raise a cynical brow. With a shrug and a resigned shake of her head she wandered over and drew her weapon. A few blows punched through the glass. The painted portal finally gave way, revealing a room full of white walls and counters. Science equipment like beakers and microscopes gave flavour to the scene, as well as machines with no familiar shape. A group of white-clad Antigons stood at the ready behind a counter.

The fighting never ended, did it? This was way too much for one team alone. Raza’s groan wasn’t stifled this time as he pulled out a gem.

All at once the group of probably twelve scientists in V-spiked helmets drew guns and summoned creatures. These ones, unlike the red-suited variety of Antigons, didn’t have Antigonid spheres. Reality broke a little more this time. The things that materialised stole into form, blotting out parts of space and light. Blackness left stains on the eyes, twinkling like impossible icy light. Neurons fell behind and desperately paused to catch up, forming whatever weird images it could possibly come up with. It was a wall- but it was a peanut, but it was a cubical shape, all at once, burning through colours in various paled hues. It was… blue? But blue was a teal green, fading into a lavender colour. The brain still saw a bright pale blue. Bits of empty blackness burned and twinkled in and out of existence all around it.

There were eight of those things now in play. An instant migraine formed trying to adjust to the sight. There was no hum this time as they glided without motion toward the team. As if a music track had skipped, a “vip-vip” sound had been sped up a million times and put on permanent repeat inside Raza’s brain. Eight of those were in his brain.

With no other logical course of action Valius unloaded what would be a full clip into the things blocking his line of fire at the white Antigons. Unfortunately it failed. Every projectile disappeared entire feet away from their targets, disappearing into black blips.

This wasn’t going well. Valius must have suspected the same since he began to back away. It didn’t help in any way that the immediately viable exit had now been sealed up by a giant fire dragon. Raza covered the girls with his body. There was a real chance that he was going to die here.

‘It’s a bottleneck, we can hold them off!’, Valius shouted determinedly. He still backed away with his finger on the trigger. Only one of the four had a reasonably long-range weapon and only the two newest members had gem creatures left that hadn’t been wrecked up.

‘I say we retreat,’ said Raza. There were other hallways. He leaned in to the girls. ‘What spells do you have left?’

‘I used my shield and healing spells,’ said Bethany. ‘I have nothing, sorry.’

‘Level two Lightning and Arctic Wind and a level one Mindshock.’ Karya held them up. ‘Plus a crapload of worthless gems we ganked from these guys.’

For the first time Raza paid attention to the Antigon objects. Unlike the little coloured, perfectly carved and rounded gems in his own collection, these were rocks. Not translucent at all, they were mottled messes of pale reds and yellows. The spells- if they were spells- were no better. They were all just chalky-looking colourful heaps of misshapen stone. It was a rock painted in washed-out shades. That was interesting. Apparently they were incompatible with Zericon gloves, though. Vague, vague memory suggested that gloves were coded to people, so stolen gloves were essentially useless.

But back to the matter at hand, that wasn’t much to run with. ‘Valius! Magic spells, what do you have!?’ It was worth asking.

‘Fire,’ he called back. That was enlightening. More shots pipped off to no effect. Valius then wasted a Fireblast on one of the… “vipping” things. That sound was pain. To some surprise the fire actually had an effect as it forced its way through their invisible reality forcefield, maybe even dealing damage.

A plan formed. It was stupid, and silly, and bound to fail, but it was literally all Raza had. He sprinted forward, into the fray beside Valius. A boot trampled through a little pool of blood on approach. Raza looked down. A grey pant leg leaked crimson. One of Valius’ bullets had ricocheted into his own leg. The man didn’t even seem to care. There wasn’t even time to deal with that, there was an insane last-ditch effort to desperately latch on to.

The only way to describe the new sound pressing into his brain was the raindrop beeping of a computer terminal, erratic and drastically unique every tone. The beeps poked and tore at his focus. For some reason the room began to turn blue. Raza had to focus. ‘Look, I have a plan. Can you get a blast of fire in there, up at the ceiling?’

‘Not easily,’ Valius said, not questioning his teammate’s logic.

The man was in no shape to get close enough to try. ‘Give me a fire gem,’ Raza instructed. ‘I have a plan.’

‘You’re too weak-willed for mine,’ he replied. ‘What do you need me to do?’

Raza turned around at the sense of a presence behind him. By now the girls had moved up to reinforce the rear. Or… not. Antigons had filled the hallway from behind them. The group was pinned. Blue star spots speckled his vision. Holes began to hum clean through Raza’s mind. Memories were being eaten.

What was left? He drew his whip and lashed at the encroaching surreal horrors. ‘I’ll use the fire gem, get in there, and trigger the fire alarm. When the sprinklers go off, Karya you use your Arctic Wind to freeze the sprinklers here if they go off and then get closer and use your Lightning on the lab. Electrocute the Antigons when the floor is wet. It’s all I have.’ It was a short life but an interesting one. It was hard to remember colours at this point.

‘I told you, your will is too weak!’ Valius took another shot. ‘Give me a second.’

Raza pointed the girls to their leader’s ankle. Suddenly an arm shoved Raza out of the way. Crimson hair was all he could see. Karya thrust her hand into Valius’ pocket and pulled out a couple of gems. There was no more time. She burst into a sprint.

A hum like a xerox machine sounded loud and clear as Karya hit an invisible wall and got clotheslined to the ground. It didn’t stop her. Black spots speckled her skin and clothes as she crawled under the levitating four-foot atrocities, even as they converged on her.

Raza and Bethany as one summoned their primary beasts and sicced them at the foes. If it helped distract them even for a second it was enough. A sudden flash of flame erupted up like a mushroom cloud, forcing the buzzing blue monsters every which where in the tight hallway. Fire licked out across the ceiling.

She wasn’t alright. Raza dove in. The sound of “haroong” sliced through his nerve endings like rows of hot sawblades. Walls, spaces, reality in any box shape… was all blue. It was all flat, and open. He was laying on blue in an open universe. Karya- _ Karya? _ Karya… was a black shape. She was a thing. _ A monster? A shape. _ Only instinctual drive remained functional at this point. He pushed the shape that had be to Karya out of the way and into the safety of… the space past the infinite flat, brown floor below, into blue. Things didn’t make sense anymore.

Large humming stormclouds bore down on him. Spheres- clouds- blocks- geometric bees constantly changing form… they came from everywhere.

He had no body. It was all a dream.

In the echoes of a somewhere, there was fire. Someone yelled. Body contact was made with… something. Touch was so hollow and distant. A body was a thing so far away. Those feelings were over there somewhere. Then there were gunshots.

Walls surrounded his brain.


	11. Piece By Piece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having survived the bizarre attack from a strange new foe, the team is faced with another series of problems, in the form of backup, and some logic puzzles. The fun never stops on the pain train.

Thoughts buzzed and fluctuated like a digital aurora, flickering in and out of perception. Scattered, hazy sequences formed dreams of impossible things. Words could not describe what never had a place in reality.

There was darkness as the storm cleared. Silence consumed like a black hole. There was no aimless drifting or floating, that needed a body. There was nothing here. There was nothingness. Not even calm or panic remained. Existence had shut down to mere empty presence.

Suddenly there was something more. Depth immersed whatever remained of sentience. Darkness began to ebb little by little until sound slowly trickled in, lost in the background like a forgotten ambience. After seconds, minutes, hours, some passage of time unmasked by measure, it became real. Sound turned to the dreamy ebb of voices on the shore of unconsciousness, pushing in. Words were scattered and distant but they were there. It sounded like a conversation.

The dream began to mutate into a visual form under the weight of outside presences. People were… standing in a movie theatre, holding bags of popcorn and standing by a counter. Five figures in old-fashioned clothing stood around in a group. Something silver and pistol-like had been affixed to one man’s grip.

‘What are they even trying to do here?’, asked the woman with long brown hair.

‘If I knew I wouldn’t be standing here,’ said the man with the tall hat and the moustache.

In the corner, one young being with a chain collar and a metal halo attached to their head, was busy assembling a metal frame, sat hunched over the pieces like a monkey.

One woman with a bird on her head sighed emotionlessly. ‘I hope he wakes up.’

Logically the screen in the other room was playing a film. This was the view. It was all there was to see, and all there had been. It was a movie, after all. The people’s silhouettes cast across it like shadow puppets.

‘I don’t care,’ said the woman holding the fork and staring down into a deactivated megaphone. ‘He’s an idiot.’

‘He saved your life, have some respect.’

‘Help me move this.’ The gentleman over in the car motioned to the sidewalk from the driver’s seat. Several figures stood idly by, holding martini glasses, and ignored him while he opened the toaster in the glove compartment. It was in fact a toaster oven now, and always had been. ‘Thanks.’ He poked at buttons on the dashboard.

One man was all alone, far off in the distance, millions of miles away. He held a mirror as he spoke into it. No sound came out. It was in fact on the wall, round and large like a picture. He held it by the handle in his hand several feet away as he spoke at it, the mirror on the wall, the same mirror. Somehow they heard him in the movie cinema.

‘’Is this supposed to be an essence infuser?’, said a woman at the snack bar in the lobby, staring at the ant hill outside in the backyard. Millions of little ants went to and fro.

‘I guess so?’ The lady with the very cold head blew her nose. It sounded like metal sliding, and a crash.

Consciousness began to fill back up like water in a jar. So very faintly Raza rose up, higher, and to the surface. Soon he was awake. Pain didn’t wait to say hello. A groan escaped him before he could move or act on his own. Everything hurt. For reasons unknown his body was seconds behind his brain. Pain was nowhere near where it should have been when it surged. Every muscle was asleep and limp as a noodle.

Opening his eyes was an experience. That good old light of day burned like a flashlight in the eyes. Not all of this was bad: A familiar figure leaned over him. This time Bethany didn’t even wait for him to try and get up. His limp, pasta-like body was hefted up to a sitting position on her strong arms. The woman cradled him close to her chest. Thankfully at that moment in time it was too early in recovery for him to be fully aware what location exactly his face was partially mashed into.

‘Raza, how are you feeling?’, asked Bethany tenderly.

Words tried to come out but the only sound was ‘wmrrmbup. Ammabapuh. Nit in. Eyt.’ This was not good. Slight panic set in as Raza tried to move his limbs and failed. Was this temporary? Was it permanent? Was he a vegetable? What would happen? ‘Ummuh.’ His tone didn’t even remotely reflect his state. ‘Erngh. Nlmung-uh.’ Only his lungs sped up a little in resolute fear.

Karya stared down coldly. ‘He’s broken. The X-Antigonids scrambled his brain.’

_ What? No. No no no. This was not real. Please no, please. _

‘Forget him for now,’ commanded Valius. ‘We have to destroy this place.’

If they did, what would happen to himself? Would they leave him here? ‘Whummumuh. Whumbout muh?’

Bethany instantly stroked the tan boy’s hair. ‘It’s okay. Just calm down.

How could he? ‘Nuhm. Uhva. Wuh spuss to do?’ This was not the end. His crossed eyes began to re-focus at the same time as everything turned back to is rightful colours, not just some mess of weird, pseudo-colours. This was not fair. ‘Pluh, jus-jus-jus wuh ham tehmeh?’

Karya and Valius began dismantling objects at random, whatever they were out of the corner of Raza’s eyes.

‘Stop. I duh want to die.’ That one came easier. ‘Please. Juss leh me up.’

That one Bethany understood. ‘Here.’ Her hands hooked under the boy’s armpits and lifted. She hoisted him up without care of what went where, accidentally smothering his face full into her bosoms. He settled his chin onto her shoulder, still weak in the knees. Raza clung as tightly for dear life as his limp body could.

Things were going to be okay. ‘Thank you,’ Raza murmured into Bethany’s ear. ‘I thought I was stuck. Like that.’

The woman nodded knowingly. ‘Shh, shh, it’s okay. The antigonids can scramble people’s brains. It’s a good sign that you’re up and aware.’

Karya merely scoffed. ‘You came  _ this _ close to being a vegetable.’

At that point Bethany did… something behind Raza’s back that made Karya shut up and turn around with a haughty sneer. ‘He just saved all our lives! Especially yours!’

Now that did it. The redhead sputtered furiously and stormed over. ‘ _ I _ saved  _ him _ !’

‘Shut up, all of you,’ Valius commanded.

‘After he came up with the plan! And Raza nearly sacrificed himself to save you so you could follow his plan!’ Bethany wasn’t having any of it. ‘You’ve hated him from the moment he joined the team. How would you feel if we all treated you as poorly as you do to him!?’

Karya scoffed again. ‘Excuse me!?’

It felt important to note for his own record that Raza was still hanging in Bethany’s arms like a limp ragdoll, staring at the far wall over her shoulder.

‘I said shut up! All of you!’ Valius began to shout.

Bethany trundled closer, dragging her ally. ‘No wonder nobody loves you! You’re just a heartless b-’

A bullet was fired over their heads, and then another. Karya ducked in reflexive panic. Bethany recoiled, unfortunately bending Raza into an uncomfortable shape.

‘Ow.’

Valius holstered his gun back into a clip-on form. ‘I lost my entire team once. Don’t make me do it again.’ Cold eyes didn’t bother with emotion.

Silence crushed the chatter like a hammer to glass. Bethany stilled. Raza quietly gained his footing. Karya glanced at her captain. Big, brown eyes gleamed as she bit her lip, and turned away. Off she went alone, storming down the empty hallways they had just fought to escape. That much Raza could see, facing the door out of the lab.

At this point Raza managed to stand up straight- or straight enough, and look around. His eyes still followed Karya. She didn’t go too far, just twenty feet or so. In the distance she brought a hand to her face, then took it away, stamped, and stared at the ceiling, arms crossed.

Bethany’s hands stabilised Raza at chest level and helped him turn around. He was in thge lab, as promised. They had made it. A score of a dozen Antigons had been stacked in a heap in the corner, all blackened and riddled with bullets. If it wasn’t clear what had happened then it never would be.

The rest of the place had sustained minor damage. Plenty of counters held more unknowable science machines of mysterious origins. Many of them held little conveyor belts and microwave-shaped boxes with transparent screens. That infamous black cable had also made a reappearance in the centre of the room, wired up to some large cylinder. That had wires going to all of the other devices.

And of course, everything was hospital-bleached white. That was the truest establishing touch in the whole place. Raza gently cued the woman to let go and steadied himself against the counter nearest his body. Sadly Valius was right: Nobody would thank him and nobody would care. Apologies were not going to fix this. It was best to just carry on with the mission.

‘What are these things and why are we destroying them?’, Raza enquired.

Bethany fielded this. ‘They’re creating blood gems here. This is their factory.’

‘So they hijacked this place to make them, alright,’ Raza reasoned. ‘I guess they needed that dragon creature because they… I guess they want to sap its life force for the gems?’

Captain Magnificent over there nodded. ‘The Burning Draccan is a legendary beast. Its energy is extreme enough in small doses to turn normal gems into blood gems. That’s why we need to destroy this place.’ Valius started pulling wires.

So far all of this made as much sense as it could, all things considered. This was an entirely new and weird world up for debate, after all. The problem that remained was how to deal with the Antigons that remained, and the draccan. Whatever this equipment was, it remained a gleaming question mark in his brain. He had to know.

Some of it made sense. The central feed distributed energy, that was simple enough. The microwaves infused gems, the conveyor belts moved them along, and the holes at the end brought the gems to… somewhere. Now that was a detail.

‘These gems are being sent somewhere else,’ said Raza. If we find that we can track down where they’re packing and shipping them from.’

‘Already covered that,’ said Valius. He was still smashing things.

A weird idea began to form. ‘Hey. What happens if you over-charge a gem?’

‘Can’t’ was all the answer the boss gave.

Thankfully the blonde expanded on that. ‘They have a ceiling on how much energy they can absorb. After that you have to fuse gems to make a slightly weaker beast with higher potential or just accept the limits. The only way to supersede that is to infuse them with mythical energy and that turns them into blood gems, which… go berserk.’ She shrugged. Beasts get charged and go insane and can’t be controlled, and spells get so strong they backfire and destroy everything.’ Maybe she knew where he was going with this. ‘So they’re mostly just used for acts of terror.’

Maybe there was something to that. Wheels began to turn. ‘What about… can gems break?’

She nodded. ‘Yeah, they’re just really tough. You’d have to over-charge them until they break or crush them in a high-grade industrial compactor or something. People have found gems intact in solid ice and in lava.’

So that was out. Wrecking them sounded more immediately harmful to his team. Maybe there was some way to sabotage the shipping route from here, like dropping an explosive down the chute and seeing where the trail of chaos led to. It would be a lot easier if he could just funnel lava down that gem chute and- not… be a sociopathic killer like Valius. This was insane. He was right: There was no way this time to one-up the team and prove something. It was probably best to just smash the place up.

So they did. After a while Karya came back. Nothing had happened, she wasn’t gone, nobody spoke of it. That seemed to be an unspoken rule. After the laboratory/factory facility had been destroyed the team moved on, back out of the room and into the bottleneck hallway. Now they needed a new plan.

Valius took a left out down the first and only four-way intersection in the hall. The man just picked and went. This was their glorious herald of command and justice. At least he got things done.

Then the done thing got more complicated, as one hallway branched off into…  _ two, four _ … nine. That was great and all. One of them could hold a stairwell or elevator. In all believable likelihood they did. The fact that they were basically out of gems and stamina was beginning to show. Another few Antigons would be a greater challenge than may be feasible. Raza was just tired, plain tired. This was still his first day on the job, or theoretically in life.

He had to ask: ‘Do you think there’s a first aid station nearby?’

‘Doesn’t matter,’ Valius interrupted, right on cue.

One by one the others began to exchange quiet glances. ‘Well, we’re all in pretty rough shape,’ proffered Bethany, ‘and you’re still bleeding.’

‘I’ll live.’

That was no help. Then Karya butted in. ‘I feel awful, Valius. If we find medical aid I’m stopping for medical aid.’

The man was a stone. ‘Fine, do whatever you want.’

It only took a couple rooms. Most of the Antigons had been cleared out in the lab assault. After hallway number three an unlocked door yielded a quiet, safe place. There were beds and medical supplies.

Karya locked the door behind them. Bethany and Valius blocked it with a table.

Today was over.


	12. Rising Heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions and emotions rise like the fire as the crew is trapped and forced to get creative with their escape tactics. Not everything is so perfect.

Too much time had passed with too little sleep. Over in a cot in the corner Raza tossed and turned between naps. The rumbling of his empty stomach had built into a boiling nausea. It also didn’t help that the burn on his shoulder stopped him from laying on his right side or back, forcing him to lay with his face to the light. That along with no pillow made this a thoroughly not-fun nap. It still helped, at least.

For hours the others did their own things. Bethany looked through, sorted, and seized any medicine or equipment that looked relatively useful. At least she’d managed to find a cream for his burn, as well as an airy bandage. His clothing would probably have been stuck to his shirt at this point if it hadn’t have been burned clean through. Everyone’s favourite veteran duo had only bickered the entire time: Karya struggled to treat Valius’ wounds and he argued and pulled away. The two would fight and make sleep impossible, Karya would pout and beg at his feet, he’d acquiesce, and she’d get her way until he got annoyed and the whole thing started over again. It had to have been at least four hours.

Then there was the clock. Wherever it was, hidden in this whitewashed room, something insistently went “tock, tock” over and over, without cease or pause, digging into Raza’s brain. If he could have found it, the stupid thing would have been smashed into pieces.

All that was over now, as Valius suddenly stood up, quick as a shot. ‘We’ve wasted too much time.’ The calm died with a unanimous groan.

Karya was first to object. ‘We just sat down. Come on.’

‘We’re in enemy territory with no backup and no way out but to fight. Every second we spend here is another moment we let the enemy get the drop on us. This floor could be crawling with Antigons now because we sabotaged their production line. Where do you think they’ll come looking first?’

Raza got up and rubbed his sore neck. Bruised ribs burned under the skin like sandpaper. He could only sigh at this point. Unfortunately Valius was right. They could open that door to find the security doubled and walk right out into a firing squad. They took a massive risk stopping their campaign halfway through for a nap. It really couldn’t be avoided though.

Bethany prepared herself without debate. ‘Our gems should be ready to use again.’ That was some consolation.

‘Has anyone tried the door from the outside? Any voices or footsteps?’ Raza’s brain was working again, whether he wanted it to or not.

It was Valius that replied. ‘No, but that means nothing.’ He was right. Silent boots were hard to track.

‘We’ll have to go out there eventually,’ said Bethany.

Raza looked up. It wasn’t a new discovery but reminders had their place. ‘Unless someone wants to crawl through the vent.’ The slats on the ceiling suggested an opening possibly big enough to climb through. More than anything that was reserved for sarcasm but an option was theoretically an option.

‘Good luck with that,’ snarked the redheaded nightmare. ‘If you want to crawl through a vent go ahead.’

It was hard to resist fighting back. ‘Well you’re the skinniest, apparently, so you’d be the prime candidate,’ Raza snapped back.

The girl unleashed a bitter, scathing sigh. ‘By like half an inch. Do you know how stupid you sound?’

‘Nobody’s going in the vent.’ Valius ended that too. Karya, open the door. Bethany, help me move this.’ He was already at said door and primed to push the blockade out of the way. Time waited for no Valius- or no man, or Valius waited for no- _ forget it _.

Karya obediently served her master and did as told after the two stronger team members did their lot. Valius threw his back against the door like a trained raid officer, ready to strike. Then they were out, into the hall. A primed gun leaned first out the door like a periscope as he searched for targets. When none were found he stopped and waved the team out with two fingers. It was clear.

More and more the feeling loomed that choosing a whip was a stupid idea for a weapon. Raza pathetically followed behind Bethany, heading up the rear because it sounded a bit more justifiable than hiding behind his teammates. Things were just not going well today. It was harder to think with an empty stomach and dehydration setting in.

After a few minutes of searching the seemingly abandoned hallways an elevator popped up behind… a standard door with a doorknob and all, with no label or warning at all. This wasn’t even the elevator compartment either, just a couple of buttons and the cable, leading down somewhere below to what looked like an elevator. That was maybe four floors down.

Pressing the button to call it would have been foolish though, if someone on another floor saw it and-

Valius pressed the button.

_ Okay. _

Raza just stood back and let it happen. After a series of clunks and thuds the elevator cables began moving and the box rose up. Grinding suggested something wasn’t all going right down there. As it neared heat welled out of the doorway.

In reality there were about three seconds. In panic mode there were about five minutes. Light soon spilled out through the melted-open elevator shutter, followed by the furnace glow of red-hot lava rapidly spilling out onto the floor. As the rest of the team reacted in slow motion Raza had already grabbed Bethany’s arm and urged her back, away from the waist-high pool of molten death oozing free from its container. Karya and Valius shuffled away in a slow panic before running. They were promptly forced back the way they came.

‘Whoa- no no no no!’ Karya hopped away like a scared, dancing elf. ‘What the-! What!?’

Raza was already well away. ‘I guess the dragon flooded the lower areas!’

She was having none of this. ‘Are you kidding me!?’ Karya accidentally smacked Valius in the face in her hasty retreat.

So the elevator was out of commission. It was impressive that it had lasted that long. Raza was now leading the charge back to the known, familiar hallways near the lab. The team only stopped running several dozen feet after the lava had.

‘What now?’, asked Bethany. They were kind of trapped.

‘Don’t tell me the vent idea’s starting to make sense,’ moaned Karya. ‘I don’t want to climb through fan blades.’

Valius was over the whole fiasco immediately. He headed back down the hallway toward the science lab. ‘Let’s look for another way.’ He didn’t seem to remember that the lab had only one door in and out.

The lab was still a lab. All the broken devices and machines were where they had been left. It was a mess, but it was at least devoid of threats- _ well, live _ threats. Raza did his best to ignore the pile of corpses in the corner. This really wasn’t how life was supposed to turn out.

That brought up a good question though- actually, it brought several. First was the room. Thoughts came more clearly the second time around, now that he’d had time to stew on it. ‘So we get credits for turning new gems in right? And I assume gloves too with how many you’ve looted,’ Raza said. Karya and Valius seemed to be the only ones with seemingly endless pockets.

‘Yeah,’ snarked Karya haughtily.

Raza walked over and toyed with a smashed machine. ‘And do we get more for blood gems?’

‘Yeah,’ said Bethany. Suddenly an invisible lightbulb went off over her head. She looked around at the machines.

Karya caught on too. ‘Wait.’ She clapped a hand to her forehead. ‘We could have farmed them!’

A finger indicated the main energy feed. ‘Not after the dragon severed the source,’ said Raza. ‘But it would have been an option if things had gone differently.’

Valius crossed his arms. ‘Whatever. Let’s find a way out,’ he said irritably.

There was more. ‘So where are the un-tainted gems coming from? There has to be a source somewhere, connected to this room.’ Raza pointed around with a curious finger. Most of the real microwave-looking things were on the left side of the room, and it seemed like those were what was needed to interact with the gems. The source had to be connected to this room to optimise delivery and processing time. That meant that somewhere over on that side, most likely, would be a panel or some kind of chute.

Up against a wall in the corner was a hatch with an electronic lock and keypad. Unfortunately none of the pastel-painted buttons made sense. Raza experimentally pushed a few at random until the machine beeped and appeared to reset itself. That was likely an error screen.

After a second Bethany wandered over. ‘What’d you find?’, she asked, leaning in to watch.

‘I think, uh, maybe a gem delivery chute or something. I’m trying to find out.’

Dread rose from within like an overflowing toilet at the sight of Valius approaching. ‘Break it open,’ he demanded.

‘It looks like it requires input to use,’ Raza replied fast, trying different combinations. Some worked better than others. There was a smidgen of progress. ‘If I break the hatch it might malfunction.’

Raza was pulled out of the way to let Valius have a go. The man pressed anything and everything until the panel was an endless beeping noise. As soon as that happened he pulled out his pistol and gave the device a few whacks.

‘N- no-’

Valius gave up after cracking the display. ‘Bethany, break it open.’

Did nobody listen? ‘Please just let me try,’ Raza pleaded.

‘You tried, you failed.’

Unmitigated disgust rung out in her voice as Karya sighed loud and hard. ‘Will you just let someone else do something for once!?’

_ You know what? Fine. I’m sick of this anyway, you- _

‘Why do you always have to destroy everything!?’, the girl vented. ‘Just let Raza do something, he made more progress than you!’

That did it. Valius backed away, and over to Karya. Eyes locked as he stared her down. Karya glared back.

‘I’m not afraid of you,’ she growled.

After what felt like a minute Valius walked away. ‘Do whatever you want.’

Raza glanced over to the crimson one. ‘Thank you.’

She didn’t even respond. She just walked away, and sat down on a far counter and watched. This time Valius plodded away and out of sight down the hall. For what it was worth Bethany shrugged. She was just as lost here.

So the panel was still a focus. It had to be, if only as a distraction. Raza experimented with different combinations, producing different results. The same error beep came up a few times. If he had to guess, the patterns on the now-cracked screen were asking about different statistics. If this was gem-related it would possibly require a quantity, type, possibly other data like which creature was being asked for, and maybe strength. It seemed like type was first. Then the screen allowed a few different button combinations, suggesting how many. Then it seemed to- it got frustrating from here. All of this was guesswork.

This took several minutes. By then Karya had joined her companion out in the hall. _ So if this was numerical quantity and this is the creature type, then- _

‘It was just a stupid statement, you don’t have to get all offended!’

_ -Then maybe after numbers it starts asking how many of each type you want, like creatures. There were far more options now than elements. But maybe creatures came first and this was the element selection- _

‘Then why did you say it?’

_ -Then that would mean that they need to shut up and the types would be the more limited pre-selection. It could be. _ He tried a few more combinations, watching the now glitchy oil-smear of a screen warp and bug out as it painted new images with every button.

‘I don’t like him! I don’t even care about him! I’m just sick of you acting like this!’

After a couple tries he eventually yielded a result. Four purple and one yellow gem appeared as the hatch opened up with a cloud of steam, for some reason. Maybe the lava had done some damage to the delivery system.

Bethany brightened up like a sunbeam. ‘Raza, you did it!’ She picked a gem up and looked at it experimentally. ‘This is a spell.’ She indicated a different pattern on the one yellow. ‘And these ones are creatures.’

‘Go be with him if you like him so much better,’ shouted Valius.

‘Oh my god, let it go! I don’t like him! I didn’t say I like him!’, Karya yelled back.

Bethany blew out a sigh and winced endearingly. ‘I don’t know what to say.’

Raza shrugged. ‘So I think I get this, maybe. I’ll try it again and see what happens. If I get different colours we’ll know.’ It was back to working on the panel. Bit by bit this weird smear language was beginning to take shape.

‘But you think he’s cuter than me.’

‘I was being sarcastic!’

Poor Bethany rubbed her temple with one hand. ‘_Day two._’


	13. Fire Works

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the facility full of fire and escape looking less and less likely, the team resorts to desperate measures in order to overcome their impending entombment.

Half an hour down the line Karya and Valius were still not talking. That was just par for the course as a mere one day had attested to. One day was… more than enough. In the meantime from this darling little incident Raza and Bethany had managed to team up and create a slew of gems. For whatever reason the Antigons had decided to rewire the buttons and put the numerical functions in a bizarre order of zero to twelve, oddly, going from bottom left to top right, then placing five to eight in the bottom right in an arc pattern and nine to twelve in the top left in a reverse arc. It had to be some strange Antigon thing. Their bizarre language seemed more like a series of visual patterns expressing values than actual random arrangements. The numerical patterns on the screen had a sort of consistency to them.

Either way they now had a bucketful of gems, minus the bucket. According to Bethany all of them were worth next to nothing, since they were as weak as weak could be. These were credit gems only. As she had explained it would take a long time to get them as strong as the ones awarded from the Zericon vending machines. By now the supply of gems had been exhausted and they were ready to go. Someone with a higher rank and magically deeper pockets needed to come collect these. It came down to waiting for the more experienced teammates to come to their senses.

It was easier talking to Karya. Bethany toddled off and did that while Raza reflected on a plan of escape. There were the vents, that he and Karya could fit through and that was about it. Who knew where they even let out, or what would be waiting. If Valius hadn’t gone rogue on the elevator they would still have had a fighting chance at getting across the hallway. It wasn’t like they could just stack some chairs and try to jump across. Sure, by now most of the lava had probably leaked back into the elevator shaft, but that didn’t stop the floor from being a burning death.

The only immediate plan was the most stupid. It was all he had. ‘Okay,’ he said to whoever was closest. ‘I have a stupid plan.’ Bethany was made alert. Karya showed mild interest.

‘Anything’s better than giving up,’ said Bethany supportively.

Raza shrugged. ‘So we can’t get through to the other side of the hallway with lava everywhere, and I doubt your Arctic Wind can cool it nearly enough to risk jumping acr-’

‘You’re not seriously suggesting some stupid gem scheme, are you?’ Karya crossed her arms.

_ That whiny little- no, _ there wasn’t time for this. ‘You and I go through the vents and look for something to lay over the lava. Chairs will get destroyed. If nothing else we trigger the sprinklers where we haven’t broken the mercury or look for a fire hose.’

Karya scoffed. ‘I’m not climbing through a vent with him.’

The mess never ended. It changed form, though. ‘Yes you will.’ Valius appeared in the doorway, arms crossed like an edgelord. ‘You two climb into the vents and see if you can find a way to cool the lava. That’s an order.’

The redhead scoffed in disgust. ‘Fine.’

‘There was a vent in the first aid room, if we could have gotten back there.’ Raza supplied. Lava had kind of leaked under the door however, making it a bit hard to reach. It would have been a lot easier if not, with all that stainless steel and metal tables they could have laid down like a temporary bridge. ‘There has to be another vent around here somewhere. There were a few locked doors down that T-intersection before we got trapped here.’

Bethany drew forth her hammer. ‘Then let’s get this over with.’

Not much later two rooms had been uncovered by brute force. A third was just a bit too close to the lava for comfort. Door number one on the left held nothing but scientific equipment like beakers and replacement electronic parts. This was of no use. The metal shelving was far too thin and bonded to the wall to be of use either. There were no vents.

Door number two was another story: In a box of a metal room, reflective panels oddly dulled the gleam from some sort of cylindrical furnace device in the middle. It was a wide tube covered in buttons and locked hatches, with a pipe connecting the thing to the ceiling, near a vent.

The fact that it appeared to be radiating insane amounts of heat was only rivalled in dread by the radioactive green colour the hatches contained. That spelled bad news in some fashion or another. Hopefully it wasn’t venting into the ventilation. Raza backed away from the door. Hopefully it wasn’t actually radioactive.

‘There’s a vent. In you go,’ said their captain. Valius was no reassurance here. A strong set of hands pushed Valius into the box. Karya then slammed into his back.

Transferred momentum forced Raza into the central device, and the burning greenhouse heat. The machine beeped as his chest made contact with about four, maybe five hard buttons like rocks. Against all odds in the burning heat this device was ice-cold. Curiosity got the best of him. He stopped for a second. There was no mistaking Antigon symbols-

Karya waited for nothing. Hands suddenly pressed down on his shoulders, then a foot scrambled its way up his back. She was climbing him. ‘Let’s get this over with.’

The presence of a boot in his face was nothing so fun- nor was one on top of his head as Karya levied the vent open and climbed in. Raza narrowly avoided a kick to the face as she flailed her way up.

Thanks. The hatches on the machine resembled the microwave infusers in the lab. With only seconds to himself he held a hand up to Karya. ‘Throw me a gem, hey? Please? Just a cheap throwaway.’

‘No,’ remarked the girl. She was only a pair of feet. ‘Get up here.’ She had a point, but everything was something.

Raza waited patiently. Did you see if the vent connects to this device or is it separate?’

Even in the vent he heard her sigh. ‘It cuts off and goes this way. Get up here.’ The feet turned around. ‘I can’t turn around to pull you up and I’m not going alone.’

Raza glanced to the leader. ‘Just one, please. I’m following a hunch.’

His stoic ambivalence was legendary. ‘Karya, gem,’ Valius commanded. One soon tumbled wordlessly from the vent.

Raza caught it and pried open one of the hatches and popped a yellow creature gem in. If he was irradiated he was already dead, so there was no loss or gain either way. Some of the patterns on the buttons made an abstract sort of sense. That said, whatever that pattern was had no place in his understanding of this gibberish. He pressed a sequence of buttons that, in, some backward logic, would make sense. It failed. He tried again, scoping it out. Third time was the charm as the box lit up and hummed, much like a microwave. After thirty angry, impatient seconds his peers watched as the box deactivated and Raza pulled out a glowing neon gem with his gloved hand. Its shape had warped drastically into some sort of mutant, deflated pufferfish shape, now a misshapen lump of erratic thorns. He pocketed it and tried in vain to climb the machine.

From behind Valius lifted him up with noticeably little effort and nearly threw Raza into the vent opening, facing a wall. There really was no connection to the device, thankfully. The young man grabbed the thin edges with strained fingers and turned around awkwardly in place until he was able to climb up and in.

‘What took you so long?’ Karya had the right to snark. Right now though all that was to be seen of her were long legs and a butt. Really, the sight wasn’t all that bad. If she weren’t such a miserable cow she would really compliment her own body.

Realisation hit. He’d been alive for a day. This wasn’t the time to exploring his opinions. He followed Karya through the vents.

‘I’m waiting for an answer,’ she demanded bitterly.

That was fair. ‘That machine looked like the things in the lab that they used to make gems. I tried something.’

The pointy-nosed girl sneered. ‘Yeah, and wasted time.’

‘I don’t know what I made but it worked, I think, as long as it’s not irradiated.’ It likely was. ‘It’s glowing and mutated though, so I have my suspicions.’

Karya continued along a random path. ‘Tell me later, not now.’ As she was in the front she was blazing the tail- _ the trail _ to follow. _ No. _ She led this way and that, taking the first right and then levelling out straight eventually, probably over the hallway. They eventually took a left. Karya stopped soon after.

‘There’s a vent. I’m gonna pry it open,’ said Karya.

He had to. ‘Don’t fall,’ he teased.

There was no mercy. ‘Yeah, I’m not you.’ Subtlety had no place in her world, evidenced by the loud crash as she knocked the vent cover to the distant floor and tumbled out. The girl appeared to exit gracefully, if her hands clutching the edge of the vent shaft were any proof of her agility. She landed with a soft pat, not a thump.

Next was his turn. Raza twisted upside-down in the vent and slid out, holding himself in the air with his legs, like a bat. The vent sat below him. Karya had cleared the way. Light from under a closed door barely light the floor. Raza forced himself down and out, into a half flip. Feet touched down on either side of the metal vent guard.

Karya sighed. Her eye roll was audible. ‘Showoff.’ She fumbled for a light switch, after he had landed for some reason, and flicked the lights on.

There was a couch. There was a coffee table. It was a staff room. A row of seating encircled a table. A distant table offered paper cups and the use of a coffee machine. A poster had been artfully covered over with the image of an Antigon agent in front of their swirling matte language. It was either art, propaganda, or some sort of motivational piece. A large television hung on the far wall. The floor was carpeted in a dull red, completely in contrast to peach-coloured walls.

‘What is this place?’, quipped Karya.

‘I assume some sort of lounge,’ Raza replied.

Time was evidently not an issue anymore, when Karya wandered over to the coffee maker and put a cup in it. Raza waited around patiently as she pushed a button and let it pour. The girl brought the cup to her lips and promptly projected it across the room.

‘Agh! Gross! Ew!’ Karya dumped the… beige liquid onto the carpet and wiped her tongue. ‘_ Ih tays shike buh! _’

He wasn’t going to guess. ‘The buttons are all swirly, right?’ It was an Antigon coffee machine.

‘I don’t care!’ She would apparently rather lick her dirty uniform. With a final gesture of contempt she gathered herself and spit onto the floor. ‘Agh! Awful!’ Karya fought to stop the dry heaving.

This was too good to pass up. ‘What, don’t like mocha?’ Raza smirked, and flinched at the pointy paper cup hurled at his head. ‘Come on, these couches look big enough to push onto the fire.’

Raza stopped her in her tracks. ‘Look at the fabric, it’ll catch fire like a match. Plus how will they fit through the door?’

Good old Karya just stormed off. ‘I don’t need a science lesson. Come on.’

The hallway on this side of the lava was more or less the same. There were more doors dotted along a winding, bland, fire safety-devoid stretch of nothingness. This was not ideal. Considering the lack of armed presence thus far it was likely this section of the facility had been abandoned. The sudden attack from a berserk dragon monster and the flooding of the lower floors with magma likely had some hand in that.

‘Hey!’, Raza called out. ‘We’re alive!’

A female voice called back. They too were alive. ‘That’s great! Did you find anything?’ It was Bethany.

‘Not yet! We’re searching rooms!’, he called back.

Next was Valius, losing patience. He poked his head around the corner, over somewhere by the lab. ‘Just grab whatever and get back here!’

Yes sir. It occurred now that Bethany had the giant, skull-smashing hammer of door breaking, on the other side of the lava pool. This was a problem. Raza glanced to Karya. ‘So, on the down side, we’d better hope the doors are unlocked.’

Her jaw dropped as reality set in like the growing shadow of an anvil over a cartoon character. ‘You. Stupid. Idiot. We’re screwed!’

He began trying any and every door at random in the hope that one was unlocked. Nothing was. The Antigons evidently believed in security, which was impressive aside from the fact that they were not on the same side. ‘Couches it is.’

Karya crossed her arms haughtily. ‘‘I thought you said they-’

‘We have no choice.’

‘-Would just burn up like-’

Raza walked away. ‘Fine, let’s go look down the hall.’

‘Fine.’

Two minutes later an open door was found. The dynamic duo managed to force their way into a kitchen, with running water. Raza wasted no time running to the tap and drinking from the stream like a cat in a bathroom sink. Sweet, sweet cold flowed down his gullet. Tears nearly formed. That cool fluid lit every cell up like a generator. Karya shook her head miserably at the sight.

Very soon Karya got impatient. ‘Okay, you’re thirsty. But do you have to moan like a virgin while you drink?’ She had no qualms about pushing him out of the way and stealing the tap for herself.

So that was that. Thirst quenched enough for a few minutes in a boiling volcano, Raza searched around the counters and cabinets. There were plates, cups, knives, and a real microwave. Those were useless. Then his eyes fell upon a set of metal trolleys. Those were something to remember. Anything that was mobile and wouldn’t immediately melt was nice. They needed enough range to safely cross over twenty feet of burning death without assimilating into the works in the process.

There were also useless metal trays. Those would work if they weren’t made of aluminium and only millimetres-thick. A nearby closet revealed a mop and several buckets. That might at least help.

About ten minutes later a ridiculous plan had been concocted, despite some arguing, a banged shin, and a cracked door frame. The other half of the team watched in halfhearted amusement as ovens, trolleys, refrigerators, and metal garbage cans were rolled and slid over the burning expanse. As it turned out for some reason if the fire alarm triggered the sprinklers once they had to be reset, so that was out. Instead there was an alternative. For some futile effect buckets of water had been tossed onto the whole mess to create a pretty flash of boiling steam that Karya blew into Valius’ and Bethany’s faces with her Arctic Wind. This was so stupid.

Yet it somehow worked. Through the anarchy the lost half had returned to them. Everything predictably returned to normal as Valius reinforced the search for an exit, via the wrecking ball of the team.

It was a long day. By the time stairs had been located the dark morning or the new day had been given light by the dawning sun. Raza climbed out last, behind Bethany. As the team crawled free from the broken wreckage of an unfamiliar exit, the world came back in brilliant force. A white-hot dam filtered out roaring lava in force, barely contained by the retaining wall. This was another toilet-shaped lava draining pool. It was outside though, that was what mattered. Nature existed. The smoke-and-ash sky only stretched so far, letting glimpses of the distant jungles show through on the horizon.

_ And faces. _

‘What are _ you _ doing here?’, demanded a shrill, nasally voice.

As one unit the team turned around to meet the sight of four figures. A girl with neon lime green hair glowered down upon them.

Valius drew his gun.

A boy drew a sword.

Raza sighed. _ Good morning. _


	14. The Ante

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Free of the facility, it only came after what felt like an eternity. The problem now is a lot more... attractive than anticipated.

The adventure never stopped, did it? The team backed away and drew their weapons- save for Raza, who stayed put, hands at his sides. Sure, they were standing on the edge of a filthy, stinking, burning volcano, but the morning was real, somewhere far and away. They had made it out. Valius had drawn first too, if that meant anything.

Having only seen them once for about eight minutes it would have been hard to identify, let alone remember the likenesses of Team Black Joker if not for the cute, freckled face of the girl with purple-blue hair. Raza took a breath. Talking to her through all the tension was not going to be easy. That childish apprehension choked his words. Raza awkwardly lifted his hand for a still wave. ‘Hi.’ That was literally the best he could manage.

‘You think you can just-’ was all the sword-user could get out. Their own leader glanced Raza’s way, then did a double-take. His eyes fixed on the interloper. ‘ _ What? _ ’

Green hair, cute purple girl, and the little grey-skinned boy all turned as one and stared. Suddenly a hand pulled on Raza’s collar from behind, choking him to the ground as he fell back on the ground, losing footing. Bethany’s arm was attached to the culprit. The woman merely stared down at him and shook her head sternly.

The youngest boy on the “enemy” team laughed. ‘He’s so stupid! What’s going on!?’

At least the purple-haired girl was looking at him. He’d gotten her attention, even if she was holding a sharpened scythe.

Bethany didn’t show any compassion this time. ‘ _ Raza, no. Just don’t,’ _ she hissed sternly. Hard eyes stared down like an angry mother.

How good it was to feel like a shamed child. Now his life was complete. A red blush dusted his face. Everyone really was staring at him like he was an idiot.

It took a second for sword boy to regain his composure. ‘Don’t think we’ll take it easy on you just because your team only has three and a half functioning members.’

Valius aimed his gun. ‘We’ve taken care of this, you missed everything.’

Raza struggled to get up, but was forced back down by Bethany. He was a collared dog.

Green hair scoffed merrily in her high, nasally voice. ‘Are you kidding? We just took out the security!’

Karya stepped up to bat, electric rod ready to burn some skin. ‘We just shut their entire operation down,’ she replied triumphantly. ‘The place is flooded and everyone’s cleared out inside, thanks to us. You did nothing.’

At this point Raza had taken enough. Enough effort managed to force himself free of Bethany’s clutches. He dodged another grab and slunk away to a safe distance, despite her frustration. He merely sat down and let it all sink in.

The world carried on. ‘Maybe you did something in there, but the only real evidence is that we devastated the Antigons. They’re gone.’ The sword-wielding boy smirked determinedly.

This was all crap. They were just showing off. ‘That would explain why the security suddenly died off when we laid siege to the labs,’ said Raza, brushing hair from his face. Spots of blood had knotted it together.

The short boy on their side piped up. ‘We’ll lay siege to you in a second.’

‘Yeah… loser kid? I don’t know what your deal is,’ shrill green hair added, ‘but shut up. The adults are talking.’

Karya banged her stick into her palm. ‘Hey! He did more today than any of you losers. He can say whatever he wants.’  _ Well… wow. _

The dark-haired boy laughed, harder than he probably should have. ‘Him? He’s too stupid to understand when he’s being insulted!’

Her words picked him up off the ground. Raza nodded to their purported foes. ‘So you guys took out all the external security and drew their fire, right? Thanks.’

That cute girl pursed her lips, evidently lost for words. She was looking at him again. Raza risked eye contact. He dared to smile a little smile just for her.

Valius redirected his gun. ‘Get back here.’

‘I don’t want to fight you,’ Raza said. ‘I don’t know about you but we’ve had a long morning, and I don’t care, I’ll admit it: I’m too bruised up and sick to-’

A bullet hit him in the shoulder like a tiny baseball bat. Raza reeled. He didn’t stop. ‘I’m too hurt to fight. You want to fight them? Fine, do whatever you want. I’m sitting out.’

The purple-eyed girl sighed and recalled her scythe. She couldn’t hide the cuts and bruises all over. None of them could. Her team watched her with awed scorn as she broke code. ‘He’s right. We’re wasting time if we attack each other now. There are more Antigons somewhere in the jungle we still need to clean out.’

Their leader agreed. ‘Yeah.’ His eyes lingered on the defective boy. ‘They can’t even control their own teammates, how could they stand a chance like this? Let’s leave them alone, we’ve got better things to do.’ One by one they re-clipped their weapons, he a sword, green hair a bow, and the short antler boy a meteor hammer. He set off. One last glance at Raza was followed up with a sad shake of his head.

Dread rose inside as the “enemy” team departed. Raza tensed up. He was going to get the crap kicked out of him. ‘Before you-’

Why would there be any other outcome? A hard boot set fire to his ribs. Valius hoisted him off the ground. Roughly the same height or not, Raza’s toes didn’t touch the stone.

‘This is the second time you made fools of us. You don’t get a third.’ Hard blues stared Raza down, even as the tan-skinned boy was hurled to the ground. ‘Don’t touch him. Let’s go.’ Valius walked on, looking for a way down the mountain.

Bethany merely shrugged and shook her head. ‘Come on,’ said the woman. Her tone softened.

Tears fell through the searing pain as Raza laid himself flat. Moving hurt, so bad. This was his life? This was what he had to look forward to? For what, serving years of his own time killing and robbing people until he dies and gets anonymously replaced? This wasn’t fair. This was so wrong. Crying hurt too much.

Red hair silhouetted him. Karya came back and knelt down. ‘Here, get up you idiot.’ Her arm scooped  _ with searing pain _ under his chest and shoulder. She didn’t stop, even as he gasped in agony. She didn’t say anything as he struggled to his feet.

But he did. ‘Thank you.’ Coughing hurt so bad. ‘And thanks for standing up- ngh -for me. Hohhh… ow.’ Her arm was not in a good place.

She shook her head. ‘Look, I know you’re trying to fit in but you can’t make friends with them. They’re our rivals, we’re supposed to hate them. It’s uncomfortable for everyone seeing you act like a loser around them. Even they don’t like it. And you humiliated us by making us look weak. Don’t ever do that to us again, especially Valius.’

‘They walked away first, you know. They could have robbed us and stolen all the glory.’ Raza limped along. His ribs felt fractured. ‘Instead they took the opportunity to leave without a fight. They were in rough shape too, you know.’

Karya shook her head. Serious contemplation gave her pause. ‘Maybe… but you surrendered. That makes us look weak. You deserved what Valius did to you.’

That was reassuring. ‘What are their names, anyway? I should probably know.’

She appeared to see no fault in that. ‘Their leader’s name is Larshe, Valius’ rival. The snob with the green hair is Valencia, and she’s my enemy. She’s a cow,’ Karya added without hesitation. ‘That chick with the makeup and the purple hair is Surelle, and she’s up against Bethany. That annoying little puke with the antlers is your rival, Kit Narco. He’s an idiot, so you can probably beat him, even in your state.’

‘ _ Surelle. _ ’ The name rolled off his tongue. It was pretty.

This woman was no fool, stopping dead in her tracks. Brown eyes lasered into Raza like an industrial mining drill. ‘No. Oh no you don’t. Don’t even think about it.’

‘She seems more reserved than the others.’

‘Don’t even,’ Karya warned. ‘If you want to date someone, find a girl from any other group. You don’t date a rival. Ever.’

Disappointment sank his heart down into his stomach. The chances that girl- Surelle, would be interested anyway were slim. Would they seriously go out of their way to hamstring him over this? The fact that Valius existed was proof enough. Life was unfair.

After a few minutes of pathetic hobbling Raza glanced to his living crutch. ‘Karya?’

She logically replied. ‘Yeah?’

It took some courage to speak. ‘Thank you… for standing up for me. I know you were just saving face but I appreciate it.’

The crimson-locked young lady shrugged with her free shoulder. ‘You’re still my teammate, and you’re a helpless idiot. You get some leeway.’ Words bottled in her throat. ‘And  _ maybe _ Valius takes it too far sometimes.’

That was more than enough. It hurt to smile, but inside a sliver of the pain lifted away.

‘So show me that gem you wasted an hour making,’ demanded Karya. It was thirty seconds to a minute, but whatever.

Raza drew it out from his pocket and held the glowing, possibly deadly treasure aloft. Karya immediately filched the gem and studied it with cynical curiosity. ‘What element is this?’ Her face squinted into a frown. ‘It’s… nothing. I can’t even tell how much it costs to cast it.’ She looked it over all the same. ‘Is it a spell or a creature?’

‘I don’t know,’ admitted Raza. He was somewhat new to this.

Karya was eventually forced to throw the towel into the ring. ‘I don’t know what this thing is.’ It was tossed back at Raza. ‘Nice paperweight. You wasted a gem we could’ve turned in for credits.’

The time had come for the team to get off the mountain. Karya and Raza caught up to the others. Over at the far edge of the dam Valius and Bethany had found a rocky outcropping leading down. They didn’t wait.

It was time to face the wilderness.


	15. Jungle Rhythm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They might be out of the volcano, but things are still heated as both teams get caught up in what rivals do best.

There were no words to describe the feeling of escaping the overwhelming heat of an active artificial volcano littered with death and dehydration. Somehow Raza managed to free-climb his way down the edge of a giant lava bowl that was apparently threatening to overflow. The giant, angry fire dragon was now someone else’s responsibility. Technically that one was Valius’ fault anyway. As long as they escaped alive and safe, and civilians weren’t about to be burned alive in horrific, agonising deaths. That was a real possibility, grim as it was. Maybe there was something they could do, but honestly it would not be today, in their condition. Everyone needed serious medical attention.

Raza climbed less than gracefully down to stable ground and joined the hike. At least he could stand on his own now. Bethany waited and issued a nod as he caught up. It was a slow walk.

‘Raza,’ she said in a tired, motherly tone as she kept walking. This did not bode well. ‘Please don’t try and make friends with our rivals. We’ll get in trouble.’

‘Karya ran me through that already. I don’t like fighting, and if you’ll notice it stopped them from-’

‘That’s irrelevant. They’re our rivals. You don’t get the option of being their pals.’ She caught on a lot faster than Karya. ‘I know you may have a crush on the purple girl, but she’s not interested. I’m sorry. You’re a nice-looking guy if it makes you feel better, you’ll find a cute girl easily.’

_ Why not just unload? _ ‘Surelle’s cute. And she doesn’t seem like she wants to hate me.’

‘Karya’s cute,’ Bethany rebutted.

‘And mean,’ Raza countered, ‘and nasty.’

Bethany shrugged. ‘She thinks you’re cute. I overheard her talking earlier.’ That might explain the fight with Valius.

Raza eyed the redhead up from a safe distance. ‘I think she’s dating Valius.’ Plus her standing opinion of the team’s new male was less than complimentary.

Like a true mother Bethany pushed on into awkwardness and beyond. ‘Well, you never know,’ said the girl sceptically. ‘They might not always be together.’

The male sighed. A change of subject was desperately in demand. ‘Can’t I just not fight them?’

That brought some controversial apprehension. ‘I mean, we’re not supposed to fight anyway, but we are supposed to compete. ‘You see, both teams are assigned the same mission and expected to launch a two-pronged attack. The team that does better is rewarded. It promotes productivity.’

‘Until teams start fighting and sabotaging each other to steal prestige.’ He pointed out one of many holes in that logic. ‘What happens if our competing gets in the way of getting the mission done?’

She was adamant, shutting that line of thought down with a shake of her head. ‘We can’t let that happen. We win or they win, but the mission can’t fail. We put our lives on the line for that reason. We’re saving the world, Raza.’

‘How?’ That was a good question. What was Zericon?

Serious eyes looked him over, twice. ‘You really don’t remember anything. Zericon is a defence company. It came to the islands when they were first discovered in order to protect the researchers and archaeologists. Now we’re like the police, but on a bigger scale. We uphold the rules and keep the general population safe. We sign up for life and forego our pasts so we can’t get attached or start regretting our choices. We give up our lives to protect the islands.’ Bethany allowed him a smirk. ‘If you’re here it means you’re special. You want to make a difference. Look at all the good you did today.’

How could he respond to that? He couldn’t, not at first.

‘Just don’t give up, okay? You have what it takes to be a hero.’

Raza walked on. ‘Thank you, I guess. I mean, it’s just so much to take in.’

‘I know.’ A steady hand patted his shoulder as she spoke.

A cry from the woods broke the calm. Such calm never lasted. Up ahead Karya and Valius bolted off into the woods, weapons already drawn and primed. Raza was in no shape to run. He just walked. Beside him Bethany drew her hammer.

‘Raza, let’s go see!’ Those soft eyes glimmered with far too much excitement. She easily held that heavy weapon aloft in her free left hand.

The boy waved it off. ‘Go ahead, I’m beat. I’m so tired.’

Bethany shook her head. ‘No chance, we’re a team!’ The plump woman promptly grabbed his wrist with her gloved hand and dragged him along. ‘This might be more Antigons!’

His ribs were not prepared for a rowdy sprint over broken branches and through sudden jungle potholes. Raza stumbled but didn’t fall. It hurt. She wouldn’t stop, it never did. _ Fine then, _ he would push harder until he dropped. Raza began to run against the sting. Able feet pushed until he held himself aloft. Bethany was strong, but his thin frame was fast. Raza began to bolt. Legs lifted like a gazelle as he leapt and hurtled, ignoring the loose bricks beating against the inner walls of his chest. Soon he outran Bethany. Valius and Karya came into view through the trees. So did the others.

Shots were fired. Blades sliced air with a faint hiss, seeking Antigon blood. Over twenty red uniforms popped up like moles and ducked back down as they took potshots from hidden niches and dove out to take swipes with weapons of their own. Team Black Joker stood strong in the middle, holding their ground. Kit Narco laid in a bloody head, staining the understory red where the crossbow bolt pierced his leg.

Already Valius was taking aim at anything and everything Antigon. This was his shooting range. Karya dove into the fray with a stunt roll, beneath an antigon with an axe. It hit the dirt as stunned fingers were quickly weakened by electric force. She kept ducking and sticking- until a nail bat pierced her abdomen from behind.

Raza readied his whip and lashed out with a crack at the assailant that dropped his ally. The tail of the weapon wrapped around their neck, loosing their hands to fight the lynching. A pull tore through his lungs, but dropped the foe hard to the floor. Raza flicked the cable until it released from its grip, and swung again.

A stray bullet barely missed his hear. Raza ducked for his dear life, what with being more prone to instant-kill headshots more than anyone else. When the focus fire increased he was sent dropping to the ground, chest to the dirt. What had to be done was done, and he scuttled like a crab to get out of the way.

One by one Antigons exchanged blows with Zericons. Stronger armour was no excuse. Down in the action the other four were standing targets, getting barraged by the second. In amid the bloodshed Surelle stood out, long locks billowing from her helmet. That scythe hooked an attacking Antigon as they popped up from a gopher hole to take a shot. The curved blade rested fast against their neck and shoulders. Rapid gunfire sprayed her thighs and abdomen as Surelle weakly forced her boot into the enemy’s face and pulled. One cut was all it took.

Slowly the tides turned. Bows traded places with bolts. Valencia’s green hair touched the ground when three bolts slid into and through her armour, one in the shoulder and two in the lower chest. Her last arrow pierced a helmet.

Raza dove for a shooter. The two tumbled before they could reload their crossbow. His own whip trailed like a comet’s tail. Pommel in hand, he beat down on the exposed chin and face until the shooter fell still. Behind him thundered the crack of Bethany’s hammer, likely on a helmet.

Soon the quiet ruled the bloodshed. As it set in like the ash, dusting the battlefield, the survivors relaxed. Raza sat up and surveyed the scene. Surelle had fallen to the ground, but she looked mobile. She immediately crawled to Valencia’s side. Larshe, tall and proud, pulled his blade from an Antigon sheath of flesh, letting the body drop. He glanced around at the carnage.

Valius beat Raza to Karya as he struggled back up to a sitting position. Valius helped her up, still alive. Raza did his best to push himself up and vertical. It didn’t go so well. Bethany had to lend a hand.

The world returned to normal amazingly fast. Valius and Larshe scrambled to loot the bodies for gains. Bethany then joined in, competing with her own rival toe-to-toe. Among the casualties Raza stood, looking useless.

Karya sat up, her wound messily patched enough to cover the hole. Valencia was at least upright, even if the bolts were still in her body. Removing them would have been a bad idea just now. That boy though, Kit Narco. He wasn’t getting up. Raza limped over.

Scorn filled Valencia’s eyes as she looked up from her task, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. ‘Go away,’ the thin-faced girl commanded.

That kid wasn’t okay. He’d likely clipped an artery. Raza leaned in against the woman’s wishes. ‘Tell me what you need. Pressure?’

Her red eyes got redder. She couldn’t hide the concern. ‘He’s hurt, bad.’ Furiously Valencia scanned for her allies, off picking corpses clean. She cracked. ‘Hold your hands here. Push hard.’ He did. Valencia rummaged through her pockets and fished out a length of cloth, quickly fastening a tourniquet. The two worked together to stop the bleeding. When it eased Valencia at last sat back and sighed. Blood coated everything. All of this was only a temporary measure.

‘I don’t know,’ she panted, accidentally wiping blood on her forehead, ‘if he’ll be okay.’ She clued in to Raza’s presence around that time and looked up. Pink-red eyes like watermelons fixed on the stranger. The girl sucked in her lips in discomfort, but nodded. ‘Thank you,’ she said in her nasally voice.

‘Yeah, you’re welcome,’ Raza replied with a nod in turn.

He wasn’t that welcome. A hand pushed him away to the dirt, landing him hard on his back, and a semi-pointy stone. Larshe pushed past to kneel by the two.

‘How’s Kit?’, asked their own leader.

‘Not good, we need to get out of here,’ Valencia replied shakily. She was coated in the boy’s life force at this point.

In silence Surelle strode past, and stopped. Purple eyes lowered their gaze to Raza. She offered a hand. Just for a second his heart lifted. He eagerly reached up and took her hand, desperate to follow the feeling.

‘_Go back to your team,_’ she whispered only to him. Dead calm held no emotion, just observation. He wasn’t allowed time to respond. Eyes moved on, toward her team, and departed his side.

It was too soon to go, not like this. Even through the scent of blood and sweat, the sullied stench of brimstone failed to hide the smell of her hair, left in traces in the wind. She really was cute.

That said, he was still standing. That was a miracle considering the internal screaming from every fibre of his body, from the knees-up. Actually, his feet were getting sore too, and one shin wasn’t that great. Everything hurt, then. That was peachy. It didn’t even matter that he’d coated Surelle’s hands in blood. She didn’t seem to care. For a bit over a day alive and conscious, this was enough of a prize. Raza watched them as he marched back to his own team.

There was no room left inside for dread. Valius could play with his gun all he wanted, and did. He levied the barrel at Raza’s forehead. ‘No third chances.’

A weary hand smacked it away. ‘You shut up,’ Raza commanded. ‘I’ve had enough of your bullying. You know what? Fine, beat me up, hate me, talk down to me like a dog, I don’t care. I don’t even care if you try to murder me anymore.’ That drew some eyes from the other team. ‘You can’t train me to obey you if you can’t even have the courtesy to respect me.’

That steady hand hesitated. Valius’ trigger finger let off. Steely blues analysed Raza. ‘I told you to leave them alone,’ he growled.

‘I’ve been alive for one day,’ barked Raza bitterly. ‘You beat me, you punish me for not being good enough, you treat me like a slave, and now you threaten to kill me for saving a life. I guess that’s something you don’t know how to do. If I’m not good enough for your expectations then fine. I don’t care. I’m going to help them if I see them get hurt, just like I’ll help you. Don’t take away my humanity just because you don’t have any left.’ That was enough. The dear captain wasn’t allowed a response. Raza limped off to the middle, and, _ actually, yes, _ back to Team Black Joker.

Larshe blocked the way like a brick wall. Broad shoulders and a handsome face were only missing the long hair. ‘Get out of here, Raza.’

_ Nope. _ ‘We’re all hurt here, and the mission’s over, right?’

Larshe looked over Raza’s shoulder, probably at Valius. ‘Don’t make me send you packing. This isn’t your team.’

‘How is Kit Narco?’ Raza shut him down. ‘I just wanted to say if we’re all done here, we’re in pretty bad shape. So are you.’

Larshe drew his blade- until Valencia stopped him.

‘We could still get attacked at any time and killed. It might not make sense to you but if we head back to base together we can watch each other’s backs and keep ourselves alive. Think about it. If we get attacked again I’d hate to have to fight in this condition.’

Larshe stared him down uncertainly. A troubled mouth twisted to match a troubled brow. He looked to his team.

‘Defective or not, take the opportunity to work with someone who doesn’t want you dead.’ Nothing didn’t hurt. Every cell in Raza’s body shook.

Valius walked over. ‘Raza, shut up.’ The boy didn’t move until an arm forced him aside, again. Captains locked eyes as they squared off.

‘Valius,’ said Larshe.

‘Larshe,’ said Valius. ‘I talk for team Veilguard, not him.’ Masculine energy burned like a solar flare as the two leaders stood their ground. ‘It’s dangerous out here. If we get ambushed we can’t guarantee either team will make it back to complete the mission.’

‘It’s a rough road,’ agreed Larshe, not breaking eye contact. ‘It’d be fun to see if you can keep up with us.’

‘I live to see the looks on your faces when you tell headquarters we had to finish your job for you.’

Larshe smiled. ‘Bring it on.’

‘Let’s move,’ said Valius.

Both broke off at the same time. Valius grabbed his ally by the collar, leading him away with undue force. ‘Next time you run it by me. Who’s the leader here?’

‘I had to do someth-’

His grip tightened. ‘Who’s the leader?’

Now Raza began to choke. ‘_ You are. _’

Valius let go and turned away to the rest of the team. ‘We move now. If those jokers get ahead of us, I’m revoking your sleep time tonight.’

Nobody dared argue. As they picked up and started along both sides exchanged a glare. Buried under the blood and bruises, still lips held back the gates against a secret fire. Inside, where nobody could see it, Raza smiled.

_ Yes. _


	16. A Part Of The System

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Push comes to shove when Raza tests the boundaries of Valius' patience, as well as those of his rivals.

Maybe on occasion things did work out. Half an hour had passed into the joint trek down the rest of the mountain and into the thick of jungle. There wasn’t a path here, amidst the strange trees and eerie sounds. That buzzing had returned in force as well, accompanied by the presence of countless clouds of strange insects. As was the case before they swarmed Karya. Across the way on their own side of the trek Surelle and Valencia suffered the same fate, now besieged by yet more buzzing things.

Out of nowhere Bethany turned to Raza and smirked. ‘That’s why you don’t wear perfume.’

Through his teammate’s irritated screams Raza managed to carry a conversation. ‘Will they be okay?’ He motioned to the girls on the other team. Wearing helmets had failed them when the insects crawled inside and refused to leave, so that route of defence was abandoned. They had resorted to miserably swinging and snorting insects away from their faces.

As Raza swatted at a giant mosquito a very realistic worry crossed his mind. ‘Should uh, should we be worried about diseases?’

‘Immunised when you sign up,’ said Valius, completely ignoring everything except staying ahead of Larshe.

Bethany nodded. ‘We’re fine. Zericon looks after us.’

_ It did? _ A glance to the young boy in the makeshift stretcher said otherwise. Nit Narco had not woken up yet, and with his blood loss it was hard to say he would any time soon. He was only a child. What had they said, that he was fifteen? That was so young, and he was in Zericon, an obviously para-military organisation. Where were the laws and accords on this? Did anyone even ask?

Valencia and Surelle took turns carrying the boy with Larshe. Raza toyed with his fingers. They needed help. He looked to Bethany. ‘Hey, they look like they could use a hand. Should I-’

A hand clapped down on his arm, hard. Bethany solemnly shook her head. ‘No. It’s sweet that you want to help people but… Raza, _ leave them alone _. They can take care of themselves.’

‘Yeah, stopthfthf-bth. Agh! Stop trying to get in her pants and take care of your own team!’ Karya swatted furiously at flies.

Automatically his head swivelled to watch his unwelcome potential eavesdroppers. Neither of the girls on Black Joker seemed to have heard, based on the twitching and shaking of their buggy, hair-covered faces.

Red began to boil Raza’s face. ‘I didn’t want to… I just, I thought-’

The blue-eyed blonde smirked. ‘I know what _ you _ want, Raza.’

The discreet blush was now a full-on red. ‘No, no! I was not!’ Raza covered half his face with a hand. ‘I just want to help, okay!?’

The cloud of flies that was Karya sidled up close. ‘_You mean help yourself to a handful of-_’

‘Perverts.’ Raza pushed himself away. ‘I just, I want, to, to, I- agh.’ Now Surelle was looking. At this. This argument. With his red face, and their teasing, they could see it. He was a spectacle.

Now she was whispering to Valencia, who was also now staring. This was just great, thanks so much. He was a spectacle for all of them to make fun of. Raza ducked back and away behind Karya and Bethany.

Her smile cut like a knife. ‘You have the _ worst _ taste in women,’ stated Karya happily.

That was enough. ‘_Shut up,_’ Raza retorted. He was becoming the class geek.

Karya slunk closer, sandwiching him in tight next to Bethany. She wrapped her clutching claws around his shoulder. That soft, tangy sting of _ almost _ filled his temple with touch as her nose nearly made contact with his skin. The ghost of feeling left the warm begging to escape. ‘Can’t you find someone your own type? Like, lost and helpless, and a complete moron?’ Her chest pressed into his arm in certain… angles.

That red in his cheeks was never going away. He was going to blush until he died.

The less of that long, awkward trip he remembered the better. All the way through the bush and back to the dinosaur-infested edge of what passed for civilisation was marred with outcropped roots conveniently at foot height and soundtracked by the cries of predatory birds and humming insects. At the least that dry heat had devolved back down to a sweat-soaked humidity, which was at least bearable.

On the downside after hearing his relentless abuse at the hands of his teammates, Surelle and Valencia had decided to talk amongst themselves quietly, stare, and then never look back over again. What doubled for his “born-yesterday” instincts subtly hinted that this wasn’t a good sign. No opportunities to talk to Surelle came out of that entire endeavour. If not for hopefully saving the kid all of this would have been for nought.

At last the trees gave way to a road clearing, after what was far too long. Both teams hit the grassy sidewalk along the highway and started walking. Maybe because it was a primitive land, or because vehicles seemed to be rare, the road was essentially vacant, which was no help.

After a few minutes of walking the other team stopped. The girls lowered the stretcher and knelt down by the boy. Hushed murmurs were exchanged. Larshe then joined in.

Maybe out of curiosity Team Veilguard stopped too. Only Valius seemed uninterested. Raza broke formation, even as his captain drew and toyed with his pistol, and walked over.

‘It’s not good,’ Valencia was overheard to say.

Raza leaned in, through the wall of people. Blood stained the cloth and stick stretcher like a murder scene. The young body of Kit Narco laid still. In the quiet air of the afternoon his breaths had fallen shallow. It wasn’t like his grey complexion didn’t already make him look like a corpse, but blood loss had taken effect. To any bystander he would be long dead.

‘Is there anything we can do?’ Raza had to ask. Nobody pushed him away this time.

‘He’s in hypovolemic shock,’ said Valencia. Dried red caked her hands, growing fresh as she checked his leg. ‘It really hit the artery… I don’t know if he’ll be okay.’

‘Does anyone have any healing spells, or medicine?’, asked Raza. Bethany had pilfered some things from that first aid station.

Larshe had the nerve to laugh. ‘I can’t believe this guy.’ He sat back on the ground.

At last Surelle spoke. ‘Healing magic can only tend to superficial wounds, it can’t replace blood or re-attach limbs.’ The swirling marks on her cheeks moved as she spoke. The girl was so calm and empty. Surelle didn’t even look his way. Her eyes stayed on her team.

‘I’m sorry,’ Raza replied immediately. ‘I’m still new to this.’

Their own leader groaned. ‘Kid, get out of here. Go back to your team and get moving.’

What could he do? He was just some guy, standing uselessly over them and watching a boy slowly die. Kit Narco was likely to lose that leg at this point, if he knew anything about medicine- if the kid even survived. He needed immediate medical attention.

Valencia sighed into her bloodied hand. ‘I’m sorry, Kit.’ She was exhausted. They all were. In the afternoon sky her eyes were blue.

Everything hurt. Raza let out a breath. ‘He’s still alive for now.’

‘For nothing,’ Surelle snapped, finally making eye contact. ‘We can’t go on and he won’t make it.’ Those amethysts grew cold and hard. She didn’t smile.

Raza really was just some child to them. It was easier to just go.

_ But go where? _

He looked to Larshe. ‘Can you carry him?’

The man sat up. ‘What’s with you!? Just get out of here! Let us say goodbye, man.’

Raza backed off, back to his own team. Valius still hoisted high his pistol.

‘Easier to shoot him,’ said Valius.

Raza pressed his luck. ‘You know what I’m going to say. Blame it on me, say I went rogue. I don’t care. You want to beat me up? Fine. You know what? I won’t even stop you. I deserve it, that’s fine. Just do it when we get back. I’m a kid and an idiot but I’m going to help them. You don’t leave someone behind.’ He stood his ground for all the little he was worth. ‘I’m not Annox or Vardi, but you wouldn’t have let them die, would you?’

The seconds ticked like hours. Valius watched right through the boy, clean to the bone. After a few moments he looked his gun over, turning it around and around. He holstered it. ‘Whatever you say, Sandwalker. I’m gonna kick your ass.’ He actually smirked. ‘When we get back. That’s a promise.’

It was a blessing, one way or another. Raza limped back on over and grabbed the back of the stretcher. Muscles begged for death. ‘Say goodbye when he’s dead, but right now we still have a fighting chance.’ He looked to Larshe. ‘Are you going to stand there?’ Raza overlooked the man without waiting for an answer. ‘Bethany, please help me. You’re strong enough.’

That wicked smile widened, and Valius cocked his head upward. ‘What’s the matter, too weak to look after your own team?’ He motioned to Bethany. ‘Go get it done.’

Immediately Larshe seized the handles and lifted. Just for a second hate glazed over those caramel eyes of his. ‘I’ve got it,’ he snarled at the world. He held back a wince as he started walking.

_ I know, it hurts. _

Half an hour’s walk turned into fourty-five minutes. Sweat poured off Raza’s face and hands as he struggled to bear the slippery load, blood and sweat mingling in his bare palm. Somehow they made it the edge of town. While he was busy holding the casualty Valius approved them travel on a bus.

Three dark-skinned tourists in spiral cone hats and flowery T-shirts would never forget the trip where a group of bloodied and bruised Zericon agents hijacked a bus, stained in soot and stinking of brimstone. A stretcher holding a young boy was laid across two seats, completely blocking the aisle. Nobody asked questions or said a word, they weren’t allowed. Zericon presence held a power.

Raza immediately collapsed in a seat next to Karya. She was closest, not that he even cared anymore. Valencia and Surelle sat opposite them. Out of the corner of his eye the girl with the purple hair glanced over. She did that a couple times in the first few minutes. After that was anyone’s guess, as Raza closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. Half an hour’s bus ride would go by all too fast.

Karya woke him as they reached the nearest town. A bus transfer meant having to get up and carry the stretcher again. It was all he could do anymore. He had no strength of will to cast any spells or summon anything.

One more bus sat him beside Bethany. This time as he hit the seat he was down and out. Some time later he woke up on Bethany’s shoulder. It was just one more trip. He just needed to get the kid to the nearest transport vehicle.

Nerve endings burned like lava. He was back in that volcano.

Nobody forgot the sight as the eight drove through the gates and into the compound. Raza drunkenly clambered out of the stone-grey Zericon jeep and lifted out a boy from another team. A few confused glances mingled with amused smirks. When they at last reached the emergency medical ward door over to the left of the main entrance Surelle and Valencia lifted the burden from Raza’s hands. The world eased off. At last his own body stopped dying inside. Springs lifted his weary muscles against the whims of gravity.

Over by the main door waited his team, red, gold, and brown each in grey. It wasn’t much. It was barely anything. It was, though, at least a start. Valius nodded upon the young man’s approach.

‘You happy?’, Valius said with a nod

His body couldn’t even gesture back. Raza limped toward the door.

Valius stopped him with a hand. ‘Raza.’ He held it out to shake.

It was a start. Raza held out his own-

Two hands clapped around his wrist. Valius grabbed hold hard and swung. Raza wheeled in a helpless circle, and into the tempered glass door.


	17. Cornerstone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of his grand first mission, Raza dwells on the meaning of life- and the meaning of Zericon.

Waking up was an interesting feeling. Very few people got to do it for the very first time and remember it. To be fair, infancy wasn’t the best time of anyone’s life, lying helpless in a bed, disoriented and confused. It was awful, probably. Raza stared up at the bleached-white ceiling and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Chatter and other forms of noise frequently pressed in on the bubble of peace and quiet around him, growing louder as consciousness returned.

Somewhere nearby someone coughed and rambled incoherently, for several minutes straight. After the first eight seconds it got annoying. Raza pushed himself up and scanned around, ignoring the burning in his chest. A ceiling became a wall, which became a door, and a large curtain. Brows furrowed- or would if he had the facets necessary to bother at this moment. This bed and those cheap sheets he was attached into seemed suspiciously hospital-themed.

Had he collapsed? They had taken the boy, Kit Narco, off the jeep and into the Zericon compound, that was right. What had he done after that? They had made it to the emergency room, right? Had they gotten the boy help in time? Fatigue wasn’t fun. Something happened. It had to have, or else here he was for nothing.

The curtain was soon pulled aside by a woman in white scrubs. Glasses perched on her nose, framing bright green eyes. She looked over a clipboard with utter disinterest. ‘Up and awake?’, she asked, not looking his way in the slightest.

What else could he say? ‘Yes.’

She wrote that down. ‘Can you move?’

Raza nodded. ‘I think so, but my chest hurts when I do.’

She pushed a button on the wall. ‘But you can. You’re good to go.’ The blankets and pillow were pulled away by unknown forces. The bed tilted diagonally, and then upward, forcing him to stand as it retracted into the wall and vanished behind a sliding hatch. Ribs again rubbed like sandpaper.

This did not feel like it should be hospital policy. ‘Uh, just like that? Is anything broken? I mean-’

Get dressed,’ the woman asserted. She pointed a pen toward a table by the absent bed- the… table that was now there? A new, clean uniform rested on it, next to what looked like a tray of his personal possessions. Out of curiosity Raza looked down.  **Z-109919** stared him back from his right forearm. A fresh under-layer had replaced his old one, so at least he wasn’t naked. The thought breezed through his brain however that someone or something would have had to strip him to do this. While bringing the opportunity to rest, heal, and escape the world for a brief while, being unconscious also had the downside of being denied awareness of what was going on.

Another conclusion set in. ‘Did someone clean me?’ What had happened?

‘Get dressed,’ the woman ordered, now a bit irritable.

Raza did as told. There was no point in arguing. As soon as he was clothed the woman yanked the curtain away. Irritable set in. Noise set in. Understanding washed over him like a tidal wave as the rows of curtains and beds stretched down the hall, branching off down new corridors. Nurses rushed back and forth, each busy with trays, trolleys, or armloads of equipment. Overhead on the high ceiling, machines buzzed by quietly amidst a network of tubes and pipes. The walls were white. The floor was white. The beds kept going, down the endless hall. There had to be maybe twenty nurses, maybe thirty.

The nurse promptly wandered off without delay, evidently having better things to do. Raza was left standing in the corridor, looking fairly bewildered. His innate knowledge of hospitals was lacking.

Raza glanced around until he pinned down some coloured arrows pointing off in various directions. One of them had to lead somewhere useful. Now it was just a choice between the yellow, the blue, or the green. Signs would have helped. Of course, not being nineteen years old and having no valid frame of reference on all of life’s learned experiences would also have assisted, just a bit.

Green it was, that looked like a nice colour. Raza headed left, off down through the endless infirmary and followed the trail down a right, toward… more beds. How many people got hurt on a regular basis here? If there were a power outage this would be a nightmare of sick and dying. The green line kept on going though, so he did as well. After a right turn he was led to an elevator. It was a start.

Two others piled in with him as soon as it opened, and pressed the ground floor button. Raza quietly shuffled in next to a large, busy-looking nurse with curly red hair and another Zericon agent on crutches. Judging by his pale skin he wasn’t well.

Raza took a risk. ‘Hi.’

The sallow fellow nodded. ‘Hi.’

Silence returned like the rushing of water to fill the space. Raza tried again. ‘How’s things?’

That at least engaged the man’s interest. ‘Getting better,’ he said after some thought. He looked Raza’s way. ‘Got banged up over in Keeltow dealing with some pirates. I’m getting restless already. I need to get back to my team.’

Keeltow was the northmost town on Genesis Island, if Raza’s quick glance at a map on the plane over had served to recall. ‘Are they getting bad up there?’ Talk was talk, this was at least interesting.

The man nodded again. Drawn-in cheeks had lost some weight. A strong chin was dusted with stubble. ‘Yeah. We’ve got twenty-five teams up there but they keep coming. Naval battles, it’s dicey.’

A thought occurred, as thoughts do. ‘Antigon?’ It was plausible that it could have had a connection to the volcano smugglers.

The man shook his head. ‘Nah. Just the Sea Rats at it again. We flushed them out of their old base and now they’re swarming. Protecting their ground.’

It was best to just pretend he knew what any of that meant. Raza nodded quietly.

‘How ’bout you? What’s your team?’, the man asked. 

At this point the elevator stopped and the door dinged as it opened. The three walked out. There were more hallways at least this time clear of beds and clutter. Thankfully there were signs this time. The nurse broke off immediate down a different hallway. Raza and his new acquaintance veered left, toward the signs pointing out.

‘Veilguard,’ Raza replied. That was what they were called,  _ right? _

The stranger brushed it off. ‘Patrol?’

Was it right to say what he was doing on the island? That fellow seemed straightforward enough, it was probably fine. ‘We were hunting smugglers up on the volcano,’ Raza admitted. ‘I got a bit bashed up.’

He laughed. ‘Welcome to life, kid.’ The man smiled at that. ‘You’re new, aren’t you?’

Raza just stared. ‘Is it that obvious?’

‘Yeah,’ he replied. The stranger pointed at the young man’s collar. ‘You’ve not no bars or pips, you’re a newbie.’ He pulled at his own, letting the light gleam off of a little silver bar over two black dots. ‘How new are you?’

‘That depends on how long I’ve been asleep. Last I know I was brought into this yesterday.’

A laugh escaped the older man. His smile broadened. ‘Well then, you’re on your way. My name’s Dusty. Team Gold Omen.’ Short dark hair conflicted his blue eyes.

‘Mine is Raza,’ the boy replied. Manners were important.

At last as the path through and out of the medical maze reached its end, a wide lobby revealed itself to the two. Dusty continued to hop along next to Raza as they headed for the door.

Curiosity bid him to ask. ‘Are you headed out for some fresh air?’, Raza asked. Dusty wasn’t likely to be going far.

‘Yeah. Figured I’d see you out. You going back to work or did you get the job done?’

That was a good question. ‘I’m not sure, I guess I should track down my team, huh?’

Dusty nodded. ‘Might help. You know where to find them?’

That was another good question. ‘Uh… no.’ Feeling stupid was not a great sensation. Raza looked around sheepishly at the room. Strangers on benches sat around, waiting for their turns to check in.

His new friend pointed with a finger. ‘When we get outside, go to the main entrance just to the left. Inside there’ll be a machine on the wall. Hold up your number to the scanner and press the “Page Team” option. Your captain will come find you.’

For once someone was honestly helpful.  _ Hah, _ “for once” in two days, what a joke. ‘Thank you,’ Raza said earnestly. ‘I- I didn’t want to ask and risk getting called an idiot.’

Dusty shook his head. ‘Nah, you’re fine. Lots of newcomers get disoriented. You’re a sleeper, right?’ Woke up from cryo?’

‘Yeah.’

‘That’s normal. The world’s changed since you went into stasis. It’s sometimes hard to adapt.’ Dusty crutched his way outside and into the grounds. ‘Just take it slow. Don’t get overwhelmed, okay?’

Raza took a risk. ‘So… is it normal to have no memories of my life before I woke up?’

He cocked his head in thought before the man roughly issued a nod. ‘Yyyyeah, now and then you get someone totally clean in the head.’ He looked at Raza. ‘You can’t remember?’

‘No.’ Raza shook his head, loosing locks of black across his face. A headache instantly stirred up. ‘Well, sort of. There’s bits but I don’t feel like it’s me. It’s all disjointed.’

Dusty shrugged. ‘Dissociation is totally normal, Raza. You’ve just woken up. Just give it time.’

Down inside beneath the pain a weight lifted like a hot air balloon. ‘Thanks.’

‘No problem. Just go out there and have fun.’ Dusty halted his walk by the main entrance to the colossal dome. ‘I’ll stop here.’ He extended a hand. ‘Nice to meet you, Raza.’

It was happily shaken. ‘Nice to meet you too, Dusty.’ Someone else was sane in this place.

The break from reality was too brief. There were no excuses. Raza headed into the building, and back into the busy mess of faceless faces. The aforementioned machine sat on the wall as he had been told, waiting to drag him back to the team.

This wasn’t fair.


	18. Details

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zericon is mighty in all its facets; poweful and all-reaching. How those in its ranks settle in can make or break their survival. Who knew it was simultaneously so complex and simple? For Raza, it always is.

Time demanded progress. That which did not grow and evolve inevitably settled and stagnated. To remain in the lobby, surrounded by so many passing entities, saw the world move on without him. That machine on the wall would bring him back to his team, would it? Hesitation denied him the motion necessary to find out.

Memory started to come back. Valius had offered to shake his hand just outside, when they had gotten back from the volcano. That was a mistake not to be repeated. At least it explained the headache.

Right now, amidst the hustle and bustle of probably a couple hundred strangers coming and going without notice, it was peaceful. Ruining that would have been a shame. Without hesitation Raza forewent the call machine and sat down on a nearby bench, balling his hands between his knees. What else was there to do? Green eyes scanned the facility warily. So many desks and counters formed an obstacle course of paperwork and lineups. Signs overhead guided the way to various destinations. The infirmary was obviously to his far left, that much said itself now. The waking rooms and other technical implements were to the right. Left was equipment and weapons training. The far back looked to be… judging by the signs, sleeping quarters and washrooms.

That was only one floor, though. Up on the second the sights changed flavour just a bit, shaping more into a busy mall. Layer upon layer of floors stretched up ten levels, toward the high, domed glass ceiling. There was too much to explore. Really though, as long as the team thought he was in the hospital, what was there to miss? How would they know?

Evidently by the impression given off, Zericon agents were not expected to interact with the public too much. Those tourists on the bus had been all too fascinated to speak with them, though, so that balanced out. If this building really held everything he needed, agents would have no incentive or reason to explore the outside world. All the pieces began to mentally fall into place. Was that what Bethany had meant? Sacrificing personal lives and commitments? How hard was that coming out of stasis after who knew how long? What was he, some eager young fool that had signed up looking for glory and got shoved into the overflow reserve for emergencies like this?

Right now that question dropped in importance. A growl from his stomach took the wheel. The second floor was some sort of commercial outlet chain, by the look of things. Raza let his weary legs steer him to the nearest elevator.

Another “ding” of a successful elevator trip saw him where he needed to be. Sights set in fast amidst the signs and posters. He wasn’t wrong: Ads for daily specials stood out in vibrant colours. Room furnishing outlets had everything from chairs to refrigerators in an array of… Raza paused. A giant couch shaped like a cat’s face stared back at him. Eyes on the cushions eerily watched the world. Paw armrests gave it form. It even had cat ears jutting out of the top. Weird as it was, it was fascinating. A hefty price tag of “4,500 CR” kept him well away. What were the chances he had even a credit to his name right now?

The others had mentioned drawing income from confiscating and turning gems in, maybe along with guardian gloves. Now it made sense why they scrambled for them. As he passed by a little coffee shop the drink list mocked his empty account. A basic coffee was ten credits. Water was five. So this was how they kept people working. Maybe Valius had a point somewhere in his twisted agenda.

Down the line a ways held an electronic sign advertising a special on fresh seafood. Again that growling in his stomach piped up. What were the chances that all those credits from their volcano haul would go into a shared account? Even if it did Valius would likely notice and track him down to rip his gullet out. Two days had told enough of a story of that man. On that note, how long had he been unconscious for? Everything was still stiff and sore. It couldn’t have been more than a few hours, probably.

The adventure was cut short as he passed a little bistro. ‘_ Raza!? _’, snarled a voice.

Dread soured every cell in his body. That sound was too familiar. He paused and looked arou-

Suddenness championed over subtlety as a hand snagged his arm from behind and pulled, hard. Like a dog on a short leash he fell back, almost to the floor. Crimson hair and brown eyes burned like an inferno as a redhead yanked the young man away and into the shop. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’

‘I-’

Karya pulled him along and forced him into a seat next to Bethany. At least she smiled and gave a little wave. Karya however sat down with force and glowered. ‘How long have you been wandering around here, looking stupid?’

Enough was enough. ‘Well, I was wandering for about eight minutes, but I only started looking stupid for three,’ Raza remarked sarcastically.

Valius chuckled at that, for some reason.

Now Bethany took her turn. ‘How are you feeling?’ She clutched a hot cup of what smelled like cocoa, with a half-eaten pastry nearby on a plate.

‘Uh… not too great but I’m alive.’ There was no point pretending to be fine. ‘How are you?’ At least he could return her politeness.

She nodded. ‘Better. You haven’t eaten, have you?’

‘No’ was a simple answer. It got the job done.

The plump girl unveiled a handful of assorted gems and a couple gloves. ‘Here, take these over to that machine over there and scan your ID. Then put them in. You’ll get credited for them.’

‘You wanna walk him there and teach him how to tie his shoes while you’re at it?’, Karya snapped, bitter as a… actually, there were too few examples in his life to accurately gauge this. She was bitter, and mean.

Raza took his share of the loot and headed off to the nearby machine as indicated. A little rectangular postbox with a screen and a hatch waited for his input. He wandered over and did as told, holding his arm up to a vertical scanner. His credentials suddenly appeared on the screen.

“Raza Kulan - Z-109919 - Veilguard - CR: 0”

It was even kind enough to remind him that he was broke. That was nice. He loaded the goods into the fake mailbox and watched as it whirred and calculated with mechanical prowess. After a moment the screen updated its information.

“Raza Kulan - Z-109919 - Veilguard - CR: 28”

Now he had money, in some sense. They really kept their agents spending within the family, by the loom of things. It was no wonder the public was so devoid of their presence. It was hard to go and make a living in the outside world when one was broke and unwelcome.

Thoughts swelled in the stream of consciousness within on the walk back. This was all he would ever have. This really was all he could do. Zericon would likely work him until he died in the line of duty like Annox and Vardi. Even if he quit he would be homeless and likely arrested for tax evasion. Reality crushed down on him like a boot. His spine took the extra load.

As he walked back in, Karya pointed at the screens by the shop counter. ‘_ Now walk over there with your feet and press the pretty lights on the screen to buy food so you don’t die and waste our time. _’

Out of the corner of his eye, Bethany smacked at the redhead. How much trouble would he really be in if he just picked up a chair and swung it at Karya? The thought was benched as he neared the counter. There were no clerks or tellers at all, just a machine and an interactive touch pad. Raza cycled through until he found whatever looked nice. The corn chowder seemed okay. As for a drink there was a bottle of pwichi juice that looked nice and familiar. At least he knew what that was. He scanned his ID and seventeen credits were magically gone. Living was expensive. His order appeared behind a hatch, steaming and ready to go.

The food smelled so good though. Raza grabbed a plastic-like spoon from a bin and sat down with his rightful purchase. He didn’t wait for approval to start in on it.

Valius stole the air. ‘So now we’re all here, let’s get it straight: Thanks to stupid’s little bout of friendship back there Black Joker now look like incompetent morons.’

_ Wait, what? _ Raza paused between bites. The spoon hung out of his mouth.

Karya laughed hard. ‘Valencia’s face. I love it.’

‘Anyway,’ said Valius. ‘Now they’re a man down since their fourth is still in the ER.’

Bethany leaned in. ‘Any news on that?’

The leader nodded and took a sip of coffee. ‘Yeah, lost the leg. He’s gonna be out for weeks on rehab.’

_ What? _

Karya smiled a dark grin. ‘Nice going, new guy. Maybe you’re not as useless as you look after all, hey?’ She reached over enough to punch his shoulder playfully. ‘They’ll be useless out there with only three of them. I love this!’ Now she began to clap excitedly.

Even Bethany smiled at the news. ‘Good work, Raza, you really came through for us. You should feel proud.’

‘That’s why we’ve got to strike while the iron’s hot.’ Valius banged the table authoritatively. ‘We have a rare chance to score a lot of points in a hurry and leave them in the dust.’

_ Surelle wasn’t going to appreciate this, was she? _

‘The best bet to rack up a big score is to jump in on the naval raids up north. The Sea Rat pirates have been at war with the port authorities for weeks now. Zericon’s jumped in to help but it’s still touchy. We’re guaranteed some action if we throw our hats in the ring.’

For once he knew about something, this wasn’t terrible. Raza sat back and listened. Then he paused. Did he know how to swim? His brain furiously raked across its known memories and skills.

‘Yeah, but their weapons are a lot more dangerous than Antigon toys. I heard people out there are dropping like flies.’ Bethany glanced nervously at the team.

That explained the hospital, and the lack of transport, if it was all up north tackling this issue. Maybe that explained the lack of activity in the volcano. If Valius had them attack when the sea was full of turmoil it would likely have been too hard for the smugglers to get a shipment out to wherever they were going. That boat full of blood gems could still be sitting in a volcano port somewhere- if there was one. It was tricky though, and all of this was speculation. The lower chambers of the complex had theoretically all been flooded with lava- magma? It technically hadn’t left the volcano. Magma it was. It was worth asking if it meant not getting shot by pirates. At least they had a sense of the area.

Raza looked to the team captain. ‘What about the blood gems the smugglers were working on? Is it worth trying to-’

‘Shut up. We’re going up there in half an hour. We’ll catch the next bus out.’ Valius finished his coffee in one last gulp. ‘Do whatever you need to do and meet me at the gate.’ The man stood up and left without a word. Karya followed posthaste, departing with a wave.

Now it was only himself and Bethany. His half-finished meal sat before him as his head dropped into his hands.

‘No- oh.’ Bethany winced. ‘Hold on.’ The woman carefully picked his draping hair out of the chowder and grabbed a napkin, wiping it out. ‘You got food all over you.’

Nothing about that registered right now. What had he done? ‘I didn’t mean to hurt them,’ Raza murmured weakly. Guilt stung like poison deep in his chest. ‘I wanted to save him and do the right thing. I didn’t- agh. Now they’re not going to understand, are they? I mean, I just wanted-’

Bethany nodded. ‘To impress Surelle, I know. Listen, Raza-’

‘No, it’s not even that.’ He locked eyes with the woman. ‘I don’t care, I didn’t do it just to look good. You see someone hurting and you want to help them. You said we’re here to save lives and protect people, right? Well, they’re people too. And they’re on the same side.’

‘Well-’

If they hated him because of this, what could he even do? ‘I didn’t mean to hurt or humiliate them, okay?’

Bethany sat back and waited patiently for a moment. ‘Okay.’ When he had shut up she continued. A gentle hand reached over to his shoulder. ‘Raza, you… did do the right thing in any normal situation. If that was a civilian or any other person from another team we wouldn’t have questioned it.’ She paused at that. ‘Well, Valius might. But those are our rivals. Maybe it’s because you have amnesia but you don’t seem to understand. When you see your rival it’s not like “oh hi, let’s compete” or anything like that. You get this sense of… energy.’ She motioned her hands in circles, gesturing in some fashion. ‘You instinctively hate them, and they hate you.’

‘I don’t want them to hate me.’

Bethany laughed ever so delicately. ‘You can’t control how they feel. Look, okay, putting it realistically?’ She leaned in close. ‘Yeah, you did the right thing saving him. I won’t deny that.’ Bethany patted his shoulder. ‘But we’re soldiers here, and you’ve just cost them precious time and resources while they wait for their teammate to recover. I know you don’t want to hear this but they would have been better off if he’d passed away and they replaced him.’

‘No.’ That was a load of crap. ‘That’s not right.’

‘Now they’re down a teammate, and that’s their income we’ve damaged,’ said Bethany.

‘Well, they only need to feed three now. It balances out,’ Raza replied sharply.

The woman sat back. ‘Okay.’ She wasn’t going to argue anymore. ‘You should eat, you need your strength.’ Her hand pushed the bowl of food a bit closer.

What had he done? What kind of a place was this? Raza opened his mouth to speak, and closed it. _ I can’t hate them. _ He sighed. Sharp heat burned in the corners of his eyes.

Bethany sat close by, quietly finishing her pastry. After a few minutes she drained her cocoa and turned to her teammate. Still he sat there in silence. ‘You know, it’s not all bad.’

‘I feel like I got run over,’ he mumbled back.

Bethany sighed. Again she patted his shoulder.


	19. Unto Thusly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The missions never end. With the smuggling, the volcanoes and the whatnot with the pretty rivals all out of the way for now, it comes time to face the pirate-ridden high seas- if Raza can survive the transit.

One long, hard stare separated safety from reality. The bus kicked into gear, pulling out from the Zericon base. There was no turning back. As Raza settled down the seatbelt pressed in against his abdomen, a little too hard. Forcing a bowl of corn chowder down at the last minute through a wave of guilt wasn’t such a good feeling. This was going to be a long ride.

Two seats down Karya yet again scoffed. ‘You finally showed up.’

Raza declined to respond. The seatbelt was currently causing too much havoc to try and fight. All he could do was sit in silent repose and try to stare at the floor.

Bethany had her own plans however. ‘I haven’t worked much on the sea, I was mostly foot patrol. What should we expect going into this?’

Judging by the sincerely high amount of casualties lining the hallways in the hospital it looked like it was going to be a bloodbath. There was no way there would be this many wounded from a few creatures storming the base. Even if the lava overflowed out of the volcano and began burning civilian settlements to the ground… which someone really should check on… they likely wouldn’t be welcome in the Zericon base. That left an all-out bloody battle on the seas with heavily-armed pirates, possibly armed with blood gems.

‘Lots of guns, lots of ship-to-ship,’ Valius replied calmly. Three quarters of his team were ineligible. ‘Mostly you wait until we get boarded or board them and then start tearing off heads.’

Bethany had to be commended for asking. ‘So we’ll be approaching on ship, right? What happens if we get shot down? Are well still expected to board them or evacuate?’

Their leader brushed it off. ‘No-one lives forever. Fight or die.’

‘Okay,’ Bethany replied complacently. She glanced to Raza briefly with a grimace.

Truly in the spirit of equal opportunities, Karya took a potshot. ‘Ugh, I was actually beginning to believe you’re half decent, don’t tell me you’re chickening out like brainless back there.’

The discomfort would pass. It wasn’t molten lava on his skin and bones. Raza adjusted himself and leaned over to the chubby blonde in the seat next to him. ‘The hospital was full of casualties, and I mean a lot. They ran out of rooms. If they’re tougher than the Antigons we’re in trouble. I met a guy called-’

Karya leaned back from her seat ahead. ‘Are you doubting Valius?’, she snipped scornfully. Hard eyes stared the newcomers into silence. ‘That’s right. So shut up and do your jobs.’

Bethany just nodded to Raza. ‘_Tell me later._’

Statistically, there was a later. As long as the concept of time remained sympatico with its perceived manifestation there was a future beyond that moment back on the bus, and there was. It came of its own accord and meandered into view at a leisurely pace, completely unaware of anything such as urgency. By the time later arrived Raza had begun to walk the gangway onto the metal boat. Sometimes later was too late for its own good.

Bethany trundled along a few steps ahead. Karya and Valius had gone first and disappeared. Now was the time to talk. Raza reached out and tapped her shoulder. ‘Bethany.’

They finished boarding the ship. ‘Yeah?’

‘About earlier, we were talking about all of this-’

‘Yeah?’ She was all ears.

Raza hung out by the rail, letting other teams pass. The port of Shyanar Mu stretched out for a mile. Ships of all shapes and sizes dotted the harbour, coming and going. From metal vessels to carved wooden boats with mammoth bone masts, the styles never stopped. Now most of the ships had a Z painted on their alloy hull. Eight ships were preparing to launch. Two began the slow limp back home riddled with bullets. Reds stained the decks and sides, as well as other racial variants.

The wind played gently with his hair. ‘The hospital was full of casualties, and I mean full. There were no rooms left. I was put in a hallway with about twenty dozen other people.’

Bethany nodded that off. ‘Yeah, I saw when we dropped you off. They’ve got over a hundred and twenty casualties in three days.’

That… was not good for statistics. It was no wonder that they kicked him out still in the condition he was. This was bad. ‘There was a guy I met in the hospital, his name is Dusty. He said he was out fighting the Sea Rats. He told me they’re a lot more vicious and heavily-armed than the Antigons. He called their weapons toys in comparison.’

Bethany shrugged. ‘It’s gonna be tough. It’ll be real this time, Raza.’

Gravity pulled his heart into his guts. ‘We could really be shot and killed.’

‘Yeah.’ The woman crossed her arms and leaned on the railing. Peaceful blue eyes stared back at the city.

His young hands had already seen and done so much. They were still young, though. ‘Hey, let’s try to look after each other out there, okay? I mean first. I don’t want to see either of us get killed.’

Bethany gave a curt little nod. ‘We’re a team, all four of us.’

There had to be about twenty minutes before they took off. Raza joined her on the rail. Booms and roars of distant artillery carried across the ocean from too far away. This city had already suffered. Now in peace between the close skirmishes, smoke had been suppressed from the burning buildings near shore. Nobody walked the streets that remained intact.

What a pity it was too, Gorgeous stonework was supported by external wooden frames. Every roof slanted majestically, formed with old-fashioned shingles. Windows were lined with flower pots. Bridges arced over countless little rivers flowing through the area, high enough to host passing gondolas. In the distance a clock tower ticked away, getting closer to two in the afternoon.

The city had migrated inward, near the market sector. It was strange, seeing women and children stare quietly as jeeps full of his coworkers buzzed through. Families sat on blankets in market squares where the bazaar had purportedly been, all their possessions strewn around them. This wasn’t their fight. They didn’t deserve this.

That sea wind blew through the harbour. His hair blinded him. To the side, Bethany simply stared out to land, lost in thought. Pretty sky blues glossed over like glass.

Raza bit his lip. ‘So… when we got out of stasis you mentioned someone called Deynan.’

Seconds ticked by before she nodded. Her focus fixed elsewhere. ‘He’s my husband.’

That wasn’t unforeseen, to be honest. _ If we get through this alive do you want some help looking for him? _ The words wouldn’t come out. His tongue edited it on delivery. ‘What’ll you do when you see him again?’

‘I don’t know,’ Bethany said stolidly. ‘I don’t even know if he’s alive.’

That was no way to talk right now. ‘He should be. He’s in Zericon, right?’

Bethany nodded. ‘I can’t find him in the team rosters.’

It was too soon to give up. ‘Maybe he’s in stasis, too. I mean, if you never saw it coming then maybe it’s possible he was too.’

She didn’t react. ‘Maybe.’

Raza shuffled awkwardly. ‘What’s it like to be in love?’

Bethany broke, leaning her head back with a sigh. ‘Raza, I know you’re trying to help but I’d… just like to be left alone for a while, okay? I’m sorry.’

Now she too was giving him the child treatment. Raza wandered off without a word. It was a big ship, he had time to look around. This was no civilian schooner. Eyes scanned across the rows of guns jutting proudly out over the vessel. They didn’t end. Crewmates hopped to, hauling crates and re-checking outlets and installations before departure. For the most a lonely agent was ignored as he walked the decks, careful not to get in anyone’s way.

So this was happening. He was a young man, on a boat headed toward violent death on the high seas, armed with a whip. Were there no backup weapons? Was he really stuck with this? This battle had gone on long enough though. When it hurt the innocent it was no longer a fight. It was an unsolicited slaughter. This had to end, one way or another- hopefully with peace.

No, alright, that was foolhardy. It could at least end with as few casualties as possible. Was it though?

The sound of the whistle signalled the beginning of the new day. The ship was off. Within less than a busy minute two sailors had taken it upon themselves to shoo the straggler down below deck and out of the way. 

‘No room! No room! Got to go, off with you!’, exclaimed a young red-haired man a little too merrily.

‘Up you go, there’s a good man! Off you go!’ The second smirked through long locks of golden hair.

Something about this was a little patronising. Two sets of hands steered Raza toward a door. ‘Oh- okay! I can-’

‘Got to go! Busy deck for busy sailors!’

‘Farewell, down below! Off off off! Off you go!’

Raza nearly fell down the stairs as they politely pushed and hen-pecked him out of sight with a muddled cacophony. ‘Okay, but I can do it myself-’

‘No buts, go find your friends! Leave the sailing to us!’

‘Down into the wild blue yonder! Go get lunch! Off with you! Have fun!’

As he hit the bottom step Raza stilled, thoroughly taken aback. His jaw hung slack as he blinked the confusion away. What in blazes was that? Those two seemed a little too pleased with their selves. The jollity in their voices rang out like bells. Evidently they were having fun with their jobs.

The hatch up above opened again. Another victim blocked out the daylight.

‘No time like the present!’, said the blond excitedly.

The redhead chipped in to the verbal barrage ‘You’ll love the sounds, the sights, the smells! Go explore!’

The shape of Bethany clumsily thundered down the steps and toward the boy. ‘Watch out!’, she shouted as she rocketed down, missing the railings in a feeble attempt to stabilise.

‘I got you!’ It had seemed nice at the time. The best of intentions led Raza to open his arms to brace the poor girl for impact.

Impact she did.

Very few times in life did one get a memorable experience like this. The feeling of a girl careening with reckless abandon down a flight of stairs and smack into his arms, that was fine. Feeling inertia push her further into him as his arms wrapped around her like a car to a tree, that could have been worse. Feeling the mounted metal first aid box force itself into his ribs from behind as he sandwiched up against the wall? That kind of hurt, just a little bit. A little bit of a lot. Screaming would have been a nice option if he could have breathed.

Only a weak, pathetic moan came out as Bethany detached herself from him with a sampling of delicacy, and winced. ‘Sorry. Are you okay?’

It only hurt. It was fine. ‘_Yeah_,’ Raza whispered.

Bethany wasn’t convinced as she dusted him off. ‘Those guys nearly killed me. They’re insane.’

They were something. Pure willpower stopped the internal writhing enough for him to move. That stabbing pain in his chest was back again to stay. ‘I guess we’re here now.’

She nodded. ‘Yeah. Let’s go find Karya and Valius.’

A groan escaped on its own. ‘Do we have to?’, Raza pleaded.

The girl merely laughed. ‘Come on.’


	20. Hoist The Colours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a typical bout of Zericon formalities at its finest, the battle on the high seas begins with a bang.

Through all the sounds and hype it wasn’t hard to find others. A shock of crimson hair next to brown waves on broad shoulders stood out in the crowd, seated side by side on a long bench The whole room expanded out as big as a hall. Rows of them lined the metal, bronze-toned walls. Seats like pews stretched out on dotted line rows amidst the bulk of the room as well, making space for over fourty faces. People got up, sat down, and moved around as they saw fit. Over at the back end corners sat two sets of drink machines and food dispensers, both swarmed by the broad population of the room.

Raza pointed them out to his 5’2” friend and led the way, Bethany trusting his navigation through the maze of bodies. A few seats were still empty next to their captain and his… whatever Karya was to him. Valius barely registered their presence, distracted with another speaker in the row ahead. He waved them off to go away.

Short blue hair jetted forth in wild spikes like a jagged cliff. Blue eyes matched battle streaks across a young face. The fellow glanced Raza’s way before turning his focus back to the captain. ‘These your newbies?’

Valius nodded. ‘Too green for my liking.’ He then darted his eyes across the new recruits, ‘The girl shows promise.’

‘_I’ll try not to be offended,_’ Raza whispered to himself. He took a seat nonetheless. Bethany remained silent.

‘Gonna hurt your chances in the tournament,’ said the blue-haired maverick.

There was a tournament? When was this? Was he supposed to know about this? Raza shrugged to Bethany and sat like a confused child, determined to listen in. Assumably Valius knew this guy and his entourage, seeing as they seemed social toward each other.

Valius was unphased. ‘Don’t worry about us. Think you can beat Dynamo this year?’ He let slip a coy smile.

The blue-haired wild boy shrugged. ‘We’re eight ranks ahead, I’m not worried.’

As lovely and stimulating a conversation as this was, not knowing what was going on got old fast. Raza scanned around for something more interesting- _ anything _. There was no sign of blue-purple hair, or even lime green.

‘Do you think Black Joker is on a different boat?’, asked Raza to Bethany. She at least was sane. ‘I mean, what does a team do if they’re down a member? What’s protocol here?’

Bethany in return could only offer a shrug. ‘They carry on. That’s why Karya and Valius are so excited that the kid got put out of commission.’ Serious thought contorted her expression. ‘If they’re worried about their performance rating they might hold back, but helping repel the pirate attack here is an automatic twenty-five points each, so we can score a hundred just for participating. I don’t think they’d pass that up.’

‘One of them is incapacitated,’ argued Raza. ‘You saw how bad it was in that hospital, right? We could actually die, all of us. Why would they risk that?’

Bethany shook her head. ‘A hundred points is a lot, Raza. We’re here.’ Before he could react she grabbed his shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, Surelle’s probably fine.’

That wasn’t what he was getting at, that was- _ no, just- agh_. ‘I don’t- I’m not asking about that,’ Raza snapped irritably. ‘I don’t want anyone getting hurt, okay? Even them.’ Everyone was sailing into an active battle zone. How many of those ships never limped back home?

Now was not the perfect time, but it was the time that Valius, lord of interruptions, ascended forth from the smouldering rubble of the earth and bore down upon the two young recruits. ‘You two, belt up. We’ll be there soon.’

Were they not allowed to talk now or did he mean they had to put seatbelts on? Having to guess and get called an idiot again wasn’t looking like a good solution. Valius did neither of those so the jury was still out.

Valius turned to the group. ‘Newbies, this is Shale, he’s an old friend of mine.’

Shale, with the crazy blue hair and warrior stripes, nodded. ‘Yeah.’ The young man climbed over the seat and sat on the back, letting his legs dangle. ‘So this is how it’s gonna go down: We’re gonna get out there an’ it’s gonna be a bloodbath. Straight outta the gate we’re gonna get shot at hardcore. Those main guns’ll keep them at bay for long enough for us to board if we’re lucky. If not we get mowed down as soon as we get in sight. After that we’re gonna board the enemy ship- any ship you see. Take control by any means necessary and turn their own weapons against them. Got it?’ Shale looked around for roughly half a second before continuing. ‘You two, what do you do?’ He pointed at Raza and Bethany.

Bethany spoke up first. ‘Ground patrol, mostly defensive force.’ She seemed confident enough.

Shale nodded. ‘Good, it’s something. And you.’ He pointed at Raza-

Until Karya waved it off. ‘Ugh, don’t even ask. He can’t fight and he doesn’t know what he’s doing. _ Defective. _ He knows _ literally _ nothing.’

Within the space of seven seconds Karya had effectively managed to not only socially hamstring him completely, yet again, but also destroy all his chances at earning back some respect. _ Are you kidding me? _

Whoever this mysterious “Shale” joker was with the stupid painted face, the man simply stared, dumb-struck. An open, hanging jaw gave no verbal prompt. His pointing finger of indication slowly curled back toward his palm, now accidentally pointing at some dark-haired girl across the room. ‘What? Are you kidding me?’ That wasn’t his line to steal. Shale looked helplessly at Valius and Karya. ‘What’s the deal?’

Knuckles clenched white where nobody could see. Raza glared holes through the seats.

‘Came out of stasis with brain damage or something,’ said Valius matter-of-factly. He couldn’t scowl or smile, just spout words.

Shale was frozen in time, darting his eyes between the four as his hand slowly fell back down under the weight of gravity. ‘So… you’re screwed?’ Nobody was objecting. He sighed into his hand with choreographed frustration. ‘This is just great,’ Shale muttered sarcastically.

Eyes lingered on the tan-skinned boy. After a second of careful supervision Bethany cut in. ‘He’s not stupid, he’s got amnesia. It’s rare but it happens. He doesn’t remember joining Zericon.’

Shale stared at the girl for two seconds before turning back to Valius. ‘He’s shark fodder.’

This was crap. He didn’t have to put up with this. Nobody stopped him. Raza got up of his own accord and stormed off, weaving between people and out to who knew where. Nobody followed him.

It was easy to get lost in a crowd when nobody was looking. Raza ghosted across the room, moving here and there without regard, picking through snippets of conversation as he went. To them he was just another man looking for the coffee or going back to his team.

‘_If the Sea Rats think they can take the city they’re in for a fight to the death._’

‘_I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with Nadjhad, man, he just keeps getting himself hurt._’

‘_You don’t think they’ll take us prisoner, do you? If they capture this ship too?_’

‘_I’m gonna kill me some rats, just you watch. I’m gonna sink my axe into the first skull I see._’

‘_Okay, we’ve got to find a way to break their blockade to the northeast. If we can do that we’ll stand a chance of getting more of our people through._’

‘_Are we all going to die for the cause, chief?_’

Raza paused at that last one. Subtle sight spied a glance at the speaker, just a young man, maybe sixteen years old. Ambitious blue eyes stared up at their young captain, some man in his mid twenties.

‘If we do, we die with honour, Bradley. Don’t ever forget what Zericon’s doing here. We’re the good guys.’ That team's captain placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

Thought inspired itself. Raza glanced around the room at all the fresh young faces, all sorted into gaggles. Some talked. Some flirted. Some sat in anxious waiting. Not a one was over thirty. What age had he been inducted in at, nineteen? That made the average lifespan of a Zericon agent about… maybe eight years.

Then there was Dusty. If he wasn’t fifty he was pushing it with a bulldozer. He was back in the hospital on crutches, but still alive. How had he managed it? It would have been so great to just talk with him a little longer. At least he didn’t judge, he was all too accepting. Maybe that was why. Too many faces pass too fast to hold hate. But how did he make it this long?

He’d said that Antigon weapons were toys compared to the Sea Rats. If they were pirates then they were used to naval battles. They probably stole everything they needed and used illegally modified weaponry. They would be on Zericon’s level at the least, if not better. How effective could a boatload of new trainees be, with cheap weapons out of a dispenser? From the sound of it, better resources would be allotted to longer survivors who earned them every step of the way. It was no wonder that the pirates were opening these ships up like tin cans. Zericon was outmatched.

Each of these agents was willing to die for the cause. Maybe that was the problem. Valius had now roped himself and everyone around him into this mess in some vainglorious crusade for prestige. There had to be a way out of this, even if it wasn’t pretty. What did he know? Raza rifled through his memory for anything useful. Could he even swim? Swimming was out anyway because of too many reasons. There was no escaping this. There was going to be a fight, one way or another.

There was no more time. The ship shook under impact as an explosion thundered from the hull. Agents were tossed around in the violent shaking, an invisible tablecloth pulled from beneath their feet. A strange shoulder tackled Raza from behind, sending him into the back of a bench. A moment later he and his accidental assailant picked themselves up and parted ways. Then another blast pulled the floor out from under him.

The ship was under attack, there was no debate. One was a collision, two was deliberate. Now agents scrambled in a panicked dance. While one half of the room fought to return to their seats before they got any more coffee stains on their chests and crotches the other half excitedly drew their weapons and prepared for battle. Lances, guns, swords, and… a chainsaw for some reason all prepared for the taste of enemy blood. It still begged the question of how. They were all below deck, and likely to die first if the ship started sinking. If the bulk of the agents had to file out one by one through the bottleneck at the stairs they would be one hundred percent dead. It was easy to see why this grandiose plan was racking up such a large hospital presence.

A few more shots pinged off the hull with earthquake force. Karya’s pointy nose soon wedged its way into Raza’s affairs yet again as she grabbed him by the arm and yanked. ‘Come on! Get to your position, idiot!’ He was thusly pulled back to the group, the both of them stumbling and swaying like drunks on the turbulent sea.

‘What are we even doing here!? How are we supposed to get out there to do anything before we get picked off!?’ The time for manners was over. Raza had lost his patience.

Bethany grabbed his wrist as the four braced against the benches, but nobody said a thing. His query wasn’t worth the breath it took to ask, apparently. Among the blasts and pings, and one loud boom that shook the ship to the rivets, every agent held fast.

Then the hatch opened. The cinema of carnage unveiled itself as the front wall lowered down like a drawbridge, out into the chaotic sea. Already over a dozen ships were in view. Zericon steel sailed between bronzed galleons with armoured sails and plated buffers. Cannons and guns fired from all directions, hurtling at anything that moved. The room lit up as a fireball hit the hull nearby, licking the flames in through the open hole. Lightning struck the drawbridge. This was war, there was no break or pause.

The deafening roar thundered through the box of toy soldiers, reverberating off the closed walls. Only his helmet muffled the sound.

Group by group the agents charged out onto the platform. A glowing bolt from a railgun immediately pinned a man to the floor. He was gone. The rest all took their positions as devices rose up out of the wall-turned-floor and took aim in the hands of readied agents. What looked like harpoon guns were primed and fired at any nearby enemy ship-

Another life was picked off, this time by machine gun fire. A Zericon woman fell from the open drawbridge and into the sea as holes burst through her bodysuit.

Grappling hooks, harpoons, whatever they were with claws, they shot forth from the mounted posts and latched onto the target vessels, biting clean through metal like tissue paper. Glowing blue cords attached them to the Zericon ship, tethered by pure light. They all seemed to know what to do, as agents each grabbed a taut line and mystically zoomed off and away up the cord. As they each got near they swung up and around, landing on the ships. Some did at least. Others hit the wall and scrambled to climb up. Defending pirates raised their weapons to the climbers.

So this was what it came down to. A hand on his back announced that his turn had come. A cannonball bounced off the deck only feet behind the team as they ran for a grapple line. The furthest-right snapped under the force of a shining blade sweeping through from… somewhere.

Breath caught in his lungs as Raza forced it back in. Hyperventilation fought tooth and nail to seize control. He was going to die. Gunfire and magic weaponry was everywhere. A woman was shot to death. That one man was still pinned by the chest to the deck. The bolt was still searing hot. A bullet pinged off of Valius’ helmet, not that the man seemed to care.

The leader went first, grabbing the nearest line. He was off. A second cable snapped as the boat was rocked against the waves. Four were left. Karya grabbed on next, then Bethany. The blonde nodded to him as she went, turning back forward just in time to avoid fatal whiplash.

_ Okay… okay. _ He had no choice. Any second now he was going to be shot or impaled. He just had to grab a hold of the glowing line and not die in the air. The other agents all used their gloved hands, probably to avoid getting rope burn or electrocuted to death. That was good to remember.

In his mind, minutes had passed. In reality Bethany had just grabbed the line. Adrenaline slowed the world to a near halt. Bullets whizzed by in slower motion. It was strange how stress could be so calm.

A bullet grazed his boot.

_Okay, not calm! _ He grabbed the line.


	21. Overboard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle on the high seas begins with yet another bang, as well as some laser weapons and a lot of parental guidance-recommended activities not fit for agents of Raza's newly-minted calibur.

The world rocketing by at a hundred miles an hour not surprisingly had the ability to force his mouth wide open. Powerful wind slapped Raza in the face like a frying pan wrapped in a silk sheet. That glowing blue line tethering the steel ship to the floating bronze stronghold in vessel form pulled him along like a fishing line. He was on the hook, over the sea of rage.

It got even better: It wasn’t just water down there. Through the tainted greys and blues painting the ocean, rust and blood stained it all a gore pit. There were no traces of the woman that fell, or anyone else that likely got knocked over the edge in the violent shaking, though that may have had something to do with the tank-sized, shark-shaped beasts patrolling the ocean below. Maybe a dozen swam in erratic figure eights, diving in select locations near the hulls. That wasn’t hard to figure out.

All of that took maybe half a second to register. Adrenaline was a marvellous stimulant. In the meantime Raza was still hurtling helplessly through the air on a reverse zipline, headed fatally toward a painful smack into a metal wall, surrounded by a storm of bullets. The others all swung up, one by one- save for Bethany. Her weight worked against her. She seemed to know it. Instead of trying she lifted to brace with her feet and planted hard on the wall upon impact. She didn’t hesitate to call forth her warhammer and swing it up and over, hooking onto the ledge.

It was his turn now. Over on the ship Valius and Karya had already cleared a landing zone, as they shot and swung. It was open to approach. There was only one shot. Failure would end in either a Zericon pancake fed to the sharks or Bethany falling to her death, and then him following. He had to swing. The wind buffered his body as hard as possible, giving no quarter. Desperation forced Raza to thrust his legs and hips to one side, starting a rhythm. It was a second and a half away. It was a second. Bethany tried to hard to climb up.

Adrenaline had wings. Weightlessness genuinely slowed time to a crawl as Raza forced his body to meet his demands. Every cell and fibre obeyed, the trajectory already calculated faster by muscles than neuronal processing. Just enough energy was exerted. Just enough lift was given, as Raza formed his body into a crescent up over the lip of the guard wall and onto the metal deck with a bang.

Too much chaos was everywhere. The fighting was just the world at the moment. Bethany needed help-

A laser axe swung at neck level as soon as Raza landed. Maybe it was pure luck that he had enough capacity left to bend back enough to keep his head. Fighting was another thing entirely. That was a laser axe. The “_ shwoom _” noise it made as it nearly lopped his brainbox from his shoulders withered the nerves like poison. One wrong move would mean a missing limb- a massive slice through the chest and lungs- a killing blow down through the neck and collar bone. Instinct was too strong. Raza ducked back again in a search for safety. The owner of the axe quickly took shape as reality made it… real. A pirate in metal plating and soft leathers screamed a war cry as he lunged again. This needed to be dodged.

Surprisingly, it was fairly easy to jump back onto the railing and out of the way. Tense muscles prepared for it immediately as the attacker swung at his ankles. Bethany ducked back down just in time as it cut a few loose strands of hair. The sea wind would blow the burning smell out and away before anyone else noticed. A metal bang rang out as her forehead collided with the railing.

Fear spread its roots. The seed germinated deep inside, behind the ribs. Bethany was dead in seconds if the man took notice. Options played wide like a fork in the road. Using his own whip on the pirate could bind him. It could choke the neck and make time. More than likely he would just cut it with his _ laser axe of death, what is this world!? _

A kick to the face could, could… knock him back, maybe wind him. It was a distance to cover and he’d be on the defensive. A wrong move meant a missing leg, maybe a swing at the crotch. Panic fought with a fury, clawing to command control. Why in the world was he so fragile?

The numbers won over. The axe was still recoiling from the sweep. Raza lunged with a sweeping kick of his own, connecting the toe of his boot with enemy cheekbone. Success had no time to take root. Raza drew his whip and lashed out, striking at whatever limb was nearest. It wrapped the foe’s free arm. Immediately Raza yanked and dragged the man closer. Another kick loosed the axe from the pirate’s hand.

_ Yes. _

Now of all times a punch decided to connect with the back of Raza’s helmet, or at least something hard. The young man reeled forward under the impact and into the violent headlock of a familiar pirate.

_ No. _

All throughout the ship as Zericon agents and Sea Rat pirates went to battle. People of all spectrums and shapes fought onward across the deck, gaining and losing ground in a dance of clashing weapons. Somewhere near the edge of the boat was a young man with his head lodged in the armpit of a sweaty, bearded fellow in metal and leather, dressed like a sea-themed biker. The two jerked and struggled as Raza awkwardly kicked and hopped like a rabbit in a noose.

‘I’ll kill ye!’, snarled the pirate, reaching for his axe the best he could.

In response Raza ran for the railing and up, running on air in an arc. The two swung around. It was probably pure luck when the thud that hit the railing wasn’t his body. The pirate grunted under the impact. Raza’s head had managed to cannonball into the attacker’s gut.

It was a grim world. Nothing removed the memory or the sight. The man reached for Bethany as he growled, violence in his throat. His hand pushed against her hammer. She would die.

_ No. _

There was no choice. The memory stained his brain like blood as Raza kneed the pirate square between the thighs and levied a fist into his jaw. He had to let go. Raza grabbed his knees… and lifted. Over the bearded man went, into the-

A glowing arrow sank into the railing inches from his arm. Bethany had to have seen that on her end.

Raza reached over and grabbed her her arm. Adrenaline had to hold through. It would. Command overruled desire, forcing his limbs to obey. He pulled Bethany up and over the wall, onto the deck.

‘Thanks.’ Her gloved hand grabbed his collar and hoisted him up to his feet. Without further pomp and circumstance she was off into the fray, leaving him behind. Bethany had a job to do.

So did he. This place was a warzone. More blood soaked the deck. Not all of it was red. So many more Zericon agents laid down on the floor than the pirates. Superior weapons and armour easily repelled the advance. This wasn’t right. There had to be a way out of here.

Down below was all sharks.

Did he have to fight? Was this life? That familiar chlorine tang stung behind his eyes like fire. Tears began to push. He’d sentenced a man to death. This wasn’t falling down a mountain or assisting another’s kill. That man had been pushed to his violent death at the hands of monsters. A monster.

What was his own life worth?

Naturally life as an experience had to interrupt its own philosophical presence, this time in the form of a blue streak. “**RRRing-ning-ning-ning-ning!**” ran out from above. War paint flashed against moving steel, swinging in on a rope like a wrecking ball.

Raza looked anywhere else while Shale flipped onto the scene and brought his chainsaw down onto… something that produced unpleasant audio.

Valius immediately appeared by the man’s side in time for the two to nod and collide knuckles in masculine fashion. Soon the intruder was backed up by his own team. A girl with rainbow hair floated in, hanging from some kind of hot air balloon gem creature, sparkling in a dazzling array of matching rainbow colours. It disappeared as she set down and drew some means of crossbow sword. A man and a woman swept in behind her, each skating along through the air as if it were ice. Superpowers were abound, or at least magic. They called back their spell gems and readied for battle. Both of the two looked fairly the same, both with dark brown skin and thick, curly hair, showing strong even under the helmets. His was a browny-black though, unlike her orange hair and lips. They could have passed for cousins.

No time was wasted, The dark-skinned woman shot forth a grappling whip from a box on his wrist and began swinging. Shining little razors gleamed from its body as it thirsted for carnage. The man however took a faster approach. A shotgun was unloaded into anything and everything not Zericon as he crept forth with his unit in military form.

Then there was Karya, swinging and zapping feebly at pirates with hook swords and laser guns, armed only with an electric baton. Valius peppered people with peashooter bullets, with mixed results. Even unlimited ammunition only went so far. At least Bethany was knocking heads. As it turned out a giant bludgeoning device worked really well in any circumstance.

Raza gripped his coiled amateur’s whip and ducked away from a laser scythe getting too close for comfort. Orange-hair with the whip came to the rescue with a well-plated rake of her weapon across the pirate’s arms. That scythe fell away.

‘Stay sharp!’, she shouted to Raza, then nodded and left him to himself.

Shale let out a war cry, shaking his head. ‘Brrrrrrah-hah-hah! _ Let’s rrrrrrrip some gizzards! _’ Another frontal flip sent him careening into the action, no helmet to his name, just a raging chainsaw- and very likely a large spoonful of crazy.

Over twenty pirates remained atop this vessel to be seen. Who lurked below was still uncounted. Raza stood around, looking useless as the carnage claimed three more agents. They were down to twelve on their side, himself included.

There wasn’t even bloody time to reflect. A cry of pain stole his attention, drawing his eyes to Karya. A nail bat punctured her left arm. She dropped fast to her knees, surrounded by two pirates. Raza didn’t think as he automatically unloaded his whip at her primary assailant, lashing out at his face. Whips whipped. They were meant to cut. This time however it just so happened to lick across the target’s face, taking his eye.

_ Uh… oops. _ The man _ was _ a pirate though. Eyepatches were all the rage.

And still he couldn’t rest. The ship was death. An incoming sword sweep forced Raza down to his toes, knees bent and back flat. This was the worst game of limbo ever. A backward kick like an ice skater landed where it counted most and the pirate buckled. That was apparently a very effective attack. Raza ran on to Karya.

It wasn’t hard for her secondary to sweep up and scoop the redhead by the arms, pinning her limbs hard as he flipped her over. Legs in the air, the two hit the floor as one, her helmeted head and his bottom in a piledriver.

She was down. This was not good. Raza had no choice. A whip to the neck pulled back her attacker like a dog on a short leash. The fool would heel. A boot to their face only made them roar in fury, but three more made them weak. Raza pulled again, forcing the brute to the floor. This whole ship was death. There was no escape but to provide or accept. A punishing heel came down on the pirate’s skull. If he lived he was only unconscious beneath black eyes and a broken nose.

Karya splayed out on the floor. Raza didn’t hesitate to run over- _ to punch the one-eyed pirate in the weak side of his face before he took another nail bat swing at the girl_\- and knelt down to scoop her up. Yet again bad morning muscles screamed like violins on fire underneath his uniform, but he managed to lift her up enough to pull her aside and away from the action. She came to after a few seconds in his arms.

Karya groaned weakly beneath that helmet. It was lucky she had been wearing it. ‘Agh.’

‘Are you okay?’ Raza’s own black locks draped across her chest as he leaned in to check.

Her hand hooked around his neck for support. Karya pulled herself upright with his help, settling in his arms. Both panted as he held her close. She was safe now.

Again she moaned in pain, wincing as she moved her injured arm. ‘This isn’t the kind of “double-team” I’d hoped for.’ A weak grin brought sunshine through the storm of chaos. Those brown eyes locked with his own through the visors.

‘Just stay alive, okay?’ Raza scanned for any incoming threats before turning back to her. ‘I won’t let you die.’

The girl smiled, brushing a strand of his hair with her hand. ‘You know, if you’re half as decent a fighter as you are cute, I could get used to you.’ Soft lips pursed and moistened as she panted, staring up at the boy.

Even through the tenderness it made it hard to ignore a pirate woman in apocalypse junkyard armour rushing toward them with… _ of course, an oversized power saw_. The spinning blade screamed no mercy.

‘Get down!’ Raza acted with his own authority as he grabbed Karya’s stun baton and jammed it upward at the woman’s weapon. Metal was still metal. Sparks jumped out when he stabbed into the power source, reducing the blade’s angry scream to a dying jutter. The pirate woman didn’t even have time to react as a giant, glowing hand grabbed her from behind and lifted her into the air. Somewhere twenty feet away, the rainbow-haired girl from Shale’s team nodded, and commanded the fist to throw the woman overboard.

That was right- they had gems they could summon. The world had been a little too busy to focus on that, what with all the gore and screaming. Raza glanced oh at his surroundings, at all the winged and weird monsters taking shape and doing battle. Half a dozen skeleton pirates were kicking around, battling a giant, rock-covered boar being ridden by a cartoonish turtle with claws and a pointy stick. Some sort of siren creature floated overhead, wailing a strange aria to whoever would listen long enough to fall asleep and immediately get killed by enemy fire. There was also a giant, fiery spider monster descending from the crow’s nest.

Over the bow of the ship, _ bow, that was the word, _ Tentacles the size of cars began to rise. Down below, stealing a quick glance, the sea boiled. The sharks had gone. A dozen more tentacles began to rise from a darkened pit in the water the size of a small mansion, then even more.

_ Make that a large mansion. _

Over fifty nearly mile-long tentacles infested every surface available, wrapping around any ship nearby. Blindly they felt around for whatever they sought. Over across the watery battlefield the shadow still grew, and darkened.

_ Make that a large football field. _

The wind suddenly changed direction. _ No, wait. _ Raza looked around. The ship had changed direction, wheeling about and sailing away from the monster. All of this just got more complicated.


	22. Avast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After surviving the first onslaught of the pirate assault, things get more tactical and less close-quarters. Raza's dawning ability to survive incredibly unlikely scenarios is put to the test, on a much larger scale.

It was safe to say that they were screwed. Things were getting more than slightly bad in terms of the turning tides of battle. Raza watched helplessly for a moment on the deck, like several other combatants, regardless of side or loyalty. It hardly changed much at this precise moment in time, seeing at the reach on those tentacles was more than long enough to ensnare the ship.

As a set of tentacles enwrapped a nearby pirate ship and immediately pulled it under without resistance this fact now loomed heavier than ever. It took maybe a whole second to disappear plausibly forever into the drink. This was not good. They could really all die, any second now. For some reason as heavy as this weighed on everything, a still calm stole over the ship on whole. Panic had not set in. To be fair, a few backed up in horror as the other ship sunk under the waves. That was something.

It got even more “_some_” to “_thing_” about in the seconds that followed. Not every ship had panicked and headed for the horizon. The crack of a cannon- of some kind- bellowed out with the force of splitting wood. Light piercing the air like a crack in reality, punching a shaft of white through the water and at the creature. Water evaporated in its wake, if that was the word for what happened. Nothing surrounded that light as it punched through the sea, repelling all matter nearby.

Nothing happened to the darkened shape of the kraken beast as it faced the glowing beam shining through the saltwater. A lazy tentacle lifted into the path of the laser, rebuffing it like a shield. After a second it reached over and plucked the mounted gun from the ship, wrenching the vessel as bolts and rivets tore loose. In seconds the gun was dead as a flower in a child’s grip. It disappeared into the dark water. The ship did an about-turn before promptly nose-diving into the water and disappearing.

Or… not. A tentacle seized the bow of the Zericon vessel, wrenching tight until Zericon ants flew from its jerking metal exterior like a catapult. One powerful tentacle lifted and swung for the fleet. Four ships collided with the wapath naval club, knocking each sideways. Crewmen littered the air and water like grey confetti.

Now of all times two familiar voices chimed in amidst the graveyard still.

‘Time to heave-ho!’, called a young man.

‘Off to you and toodle-oo!’ The second waved to the creature as he flipped a series of switches inside of the captain’s deck. It was one of the overly-aggressive sailors. This one was the redhead. He and his cohort leaned out of a window as they shouted. Evidently they had survived somehow.

The ship sped up in the opposite direction of the growing slaughter. Relief washed like rain over the assorted crew. One by one the various attendees began to drift back to reality, weapons in hand and gems at the ready. There was still more blood to be spilled.

A “_ rrrring-ning-ning-ning-ning! _” chainsawed through the dying pause, along with a blood-curdling scream. It could have curdled paint. Evidently Shale didn’t wait for a signal. Another scream drew more eyes than it should have. Somehow up on the mast, a blue shape stood on the edge of the sail, watching as a female pirate hurtled toward the… she hit the deck, inches away from another pirate. There wasn’t much left worth dwelling on the details of.

Up above, Shale cursed loudly, kicking the mast with rage. ‘No! **NO!** It was almost a twofer! Do-over!’ He pointed his chainsaw at the rainbow-haired girl. ‘Oun! Throw-them-back- _ up_! I gotta do this _ again_!’

Raza quietly slipped away to anywhere else on the ship. Eyes soon caught sight of Valius. One pistol and a shotgun squared off against three cutlasses and another laser axe, because those worked out so well. Back to back, Valius and the dark-skinned male from Shale’s crew, both unloading rounds into whatever enemy got too close. Most of the shots bounced off of the viking-pirate-biker armour and ricocheted off in dangerous angles.

The one with the death axe was a problem above other problems. Raza reluctantly drew his whip and lashed out at the axeman in a desperate bid to draw his attention. Ideally it would have been nice to disarm him. The whip instead merely bounced off of his helmet. Luckily it did manage to get the insane, armed maniac chasing after Raza though, with obvious murderous intent and a killing weapon capable of severing limbs like a hot knife through butter. That had to be better, somehow. What were the chances that he would be able to repeat the same ploy as last time?

A spanner-shaped impediment flew itself into the works as the pirate drew a gem and called up a blast of green energy. Vines erupted from his fist and into Raza’s chest. In a second alone he was pinned to the railing, vines rapidly growing over his chest and legs. This was bad. On the upside the pirate appeared to have lost interest in Raza. That was good?

Valius and the shotgunner once again bore the brunt. Attacks were levied by brute force of muscle, sending blades Valius’ way. One stopped with a kick to the wrist. As a second sword swung around from the side at critical velocity Valius immediately flipped the pistol in his hand, grabbing the barrel and lowering it to his waist. The grip caught the brunt of the blade as the gun hammered into his ribs deeper than it should have. He didn’t flinch. As he ducked down and fired from under the shotgunner’s arm at the third attacker. Somehow the duo coordinated, as the shotgunner turned his own weapon upside down and unloaded the barrel over his shoulder at Valius’ foes. Immediately after the two switched sides. Shotgunner rolled and kicked. Valius wheeled and swept the leg. Timing was still impeccable. A swing from the laser axeman was deflected down into his own ally. Valius now had time to glance over and roll his eyes.

Over in the distance a red flash erupted forth. Vines exploded into plumes of flame, enveloping the Raza. The young man dropped to the floor with only a few minor scorch marks to show for his trouble. Immediately after Valius glanced at his hand. It was still on fire. The captain shrugged and lobbed a fireball at the axeman on the ground. When that failed to finish him off Valius drew a machete from his waist, unclipping it into expanded form. Apparently he had one of those. Swinging motion hard enough to bring the captain to his knees also brought the blade down toward an unguarded throat. There was no time for flinching as Valius wheeled back around and took a swing at the pirate behind him.

That all seemed to be sorting itself out nicely. Raza dusted the cinders away and slunk off. Bigger troubles grew as the number of pirates was reduced from twenty or so to twelve, then to three… and none. Zericon agents dashed about, gathering gloves and gems until the sight arose of another pirate vessel, closing in fast.

‘Trouble on the way, got to go, can’t stay!’ The blond Zericon sailor visibly turned the wheel.

‘Boys and girls on deck, on your toes!’, shouted the redhead. ‘Gonna be a rumble inbound!’ Even from that high up they had lost their smiles.

Guns levelled on the captured ship brom behind. The pirates took aim. Now calm on the decks, the sailor boys called out to the remaining agents. ‘The ship’s unarmed from the back, we have to come about! Brace for impact or man your stations!’

Only three teams remained, or close enough to three. A trio of strangers peppered the known eight; one young man with purple hair, all on his own, and two together side by side like the fractional remainders of a unit, both nearly identical under the uniform. All three- four?- teams slowly took positions as the ship began to turn, save for Raza. Green eyes watched as the agents dashed off to different mounted guns. Were those even manual?

A blonde woman sprinted by. A lucky grab snagged Raza’s arm and dragged him along. ‘Come on, get in a turret and start firing! Move the base with the left and right pedals and aim with the handles. Pull the triggers to shoot!’ A forceful hand sent him off on a private trajectory toward an empty gun.

In Raza climbed. Out of all the things today contained, this was at least given an instruction manual and purpose of sorts. The rig didn’t need any keys, either, as it started at the touch of his hands. That was good. He needed all the luck he could get right now.

Beams and cannonballs already fired from the other guns. Now it was Raza’s turn to catch up. He moved the handle and stepped down on the right pedal, forcing a grinding squeal from the rusty heap, as it turned with all the finesse and speed of an old forklift. That was not a good sign. He pressed the triggers and wat- he pressed the trig- there were no triggers. _ Oh, _ he was going to get yelled at for this.

A blast struck the ship not twenty feet away.

Raza searched around in a desperate panic. There had to be something on this scrappy old piece of makeshift crap. This wasn’t Zericon technology, there were going to be differences.

The next attack lasered into the hull with a noise like a screaming buzzsaw.

No buttons were found on the wheel. There weren’t extra pedals anywhere, and there definitely no buttons or triggers. There was only an old leather seat bolted to a peeled-open oversized water heater with a viewhole and mounted sights. The handle appeared to have been stolen from a car and cut off on the bottom to resemble handles. That would explain the pedals at any rate. There were no other outstanding sights to note.

He’d been given a broken gun.

Yet another blast tore into the ship not ten feet amiss.

This wasn’t fair. This was complete crap. Why did he always get stuck with the utterly incomprehensible problems? Everyone else was doing fine. Raw frustration forced an emotional surrender. Raza gave in to the anger and booted hard on the stupid wheel.

Life was inventively cruel. The handle rig depressed with a “clank” as his assault forced the gun down toward the water and fired. What boomed out of his mounted cannon exploded on impact with the surface.

Valius’ voice echoed over the gunfire. ‘We already have enough enemies! Aim for their ship, not ours!’

_ Thanks, you son of a- _

Somewhere on the ship Shale cackled hysterically and howled like a wolf. ‘Shark soup, buddy!?’

This time the blast from the enemy bombardment shook the turret. Precious eardrums were only saved by his helmet. Why was everyone nicer than his team? Bethany aside.

It didn’t matter right now. He was seconds from getting shelled into smoking bits of meat or having his head lasered clean off. He pulled back on the handles and angled his trajectory in this old bucket of staples and tuna cans. Then he sat upright and forced down and forced down with his feet, barely generating enough force to push it in. As was his luck, the wheel jerked upward under the pressure. The metal sphere flew out from the gun straight forward and hit the water in the no man’s land halfway between ships. This was harder than it looked.

‘Shoot straight or get out! Stop wasting ammunition, damn it!’ Genuine irritation painted Valius’ voice a shade of hate.

This wasn’t his battle. It wasn’t his fault this was going wrong. Raza angled the blasted heap and aimed for the invisible face of his captain painted on the enemy hull. This time he accounted for the displacement and fired. A steely, spiked ball of patchwork scrap lobbed itself across the briny deep and grazed the hull. Hundreds of little pings echoed off. They must have been shrapnel. If so then this had a lot of potential.

There was no time to find out. Too many lasers and explosions rocked the now-smoking hull of his team’s ship. They were getting pummelled.

‘Gotta 86! We’re hitting the bricks!’, shouted the blond sailor. Those two really were weird. He steered the ship away, focusing the fire on their unarmed back. They had to flee.

Valius’ voice grew louder, as did others. Raza turned to peer out of the mounted gun compartment. Most of the others had abandoned their posts to converge on the centre deck for some kind of meeting. There was no point manning a gun pointed at the island anyway. The enemy was behind them and they were currently heading southwest, past the city and over toward the volcano in a hurry.

Already the enemy ship had turned to pursue, and was now backed up by another of its kind. Evidently nobody wanted to fight the kraken.

‘We need a plan to get them off our backs,’ announced Valius. ‘We’re out-gunned and damned if I’m going to let them take us. We’re gonna live, and we’re not gonna run.’ One voice commanded the whole. Nobody objected.

Shale was first to react, nodding along with a broad grin. ‘Thatta boy! I say we play chicken. Ram this ship right down their throats!’ He was far too excited for violence.

‘No,’ objected the rainbow-haired girl. Her name was… Oun? ‘If we can juke them out in the reef we can make our way back to the city and fight them at port, near the Zericon ships docked there. We won’t be left hanging, and that sector of the city’s been evacuated.’

‘De reef is dangerous,’ said the dark-skinned man with thick, curly hair and a shotgun. ‘We go de reef, we get carved up like a can opener.’ His accent stood out strong and deep, maybe Jamaican or African- or some variant. ‘Dem ships, dey sink like paper out there, I seen it. Dat’s ours too, an’ we use proper steel. Dis is just scrap metal. I say no.’

A blonde girl from the team of two removed her helmet and shook loose her long locks. ‘We could surrender and then attack them when-’

‘No.’ Valius cut her off immediately. ‘Zericon never surrenders.’

More shots hammered into the butt-end of the vessel, wounding metal deeply. The captain’s deck windows opened again for another announcement from the sailors. ‘They hit one of the propellers! We’re ducks in a barrel!’ That was the redhead.

That familiar old volcano was approaching fast. They had officially abandoned the battlefield.

Valius was utterly unmoved. ‘Think! We’ve got eleven people here! Plus… Wingus and Dingus up there.’ He gestured to the two daffy sailors now squabbling at the wheel. ‘We’re not taking two armed ships on in direct combat like this. I’m angry, not suicidal.’

‘Head-on, man,’ insisted Shale merrily. He was allowed to place a hand on his friend’s shoulder. ‘Headbutt your demons right in the dick.’

Karya glanced toward the island. ‘Hey! The volcano! We cleared out the Antigons and Black Joker sacked their port! If we can hide in there we can get off the ship and at least get away!’ It was something, she was thinking.

‘But can we?’, interjected Bethany thoughtfully. ‘If you remember the lower chambers were all flooded with lava. We might not be able to get in without getting burned alive.’

Knuckles clenched white as Valius gritted his teeth and ran a hand through his hair, grabbing hold hard in a ponytail.

‘It’s all we’ve got!’, Karya retorted in frustration.

New to the fray, the brown-haired male from the other half of the left-over duo removed his helmet and jumped into the conversation. ‘I say it’s worth a shot. It seems like the only option we have left.’

A general agreement washed over the group.

A general wave of death washed over the back of the ship. Up above, glass shattered. An explosion rocked the captain’s deck. Red hair sailed through the air as one of the sailors careened through the glass and out into open air.

Oun wasted no time casting one of her gems, summoning a giant pink beast shaped like a caterpillar made of girly pillows. Soft, rumbling coos escaped it as the creature hurriedly skittered under the landing zone and puffed up like a marshmallow in a microwave. The redhead landed with a soft “_doof!_”.

Still up there, the blond was splayed over the window sill of the above closed deck, slumped half out like a corpse on display. They were now without direction, coasting.

‘No!’ The orange-haired woman bolted for the door at the base of the raised deck.

Suddenly Shale stopped smirking. A silver gem flashed in his gloved hand. Metal squealed as he dashed on flat feet over to follow, losing no time.

The volcano was now directly beside the ship. A hidden little nook peeked out in the darkness of the ash-caked rocks, now curtained by a waterfall of lava from up above. It was too late to turn. They were sunk- maybe literally. Nothing ever worked out as planned in life. The jungle was still likely to burn from the lava, where they-

_ Oh. Maybe… _

Raza dashed for the gunner’s turret and hopped in. Hopefully this would work. With all his might he angled his gun up, until it maxed out at the highest arc possible. All he had were two shots to gauge the power and trajectory of this weapon. One miss sank the whole plan.

Karya booked it after him. ‘Raza, what the hell do you think you’re doing!?’

Two were better than one. More were great. _ Okay, yes_. He didn’t look away. ‘Look, the lava dams up in the volcano are overloaded and flooding! It’s coming out all down the mountain! If we break it open at just the right time we can either land the overflow on the ships or force them to turn about and we can open fire! They’re gaining fast, they don’t have as much time to turn!’ It had to work.

_Please don’t fail. _

Karya bolted for the group. _ Any second now… _

A voice cleaved his focus in two. ‘Aim for the high rocks! Bring the lava down on those bastards!’, commanded Valius. ‘On my mark!’

Raza bit his lip. _ But this was- no, okay. On Valius' signal. _

‘Aim high!’

He already had. Those ships were right on their tail. The barrage of attacks didn’t stop.

‘_Fire!_’

All at once eight guns unleashed their fury on the mountainside. Bombs burst. Lasers sawed clean through rock. An explosion wounded the volcano like the roar of a beast.

That faucet finally burst.

Sweet elation tread in cleats clean over the growing fear at the sight of lava gushing like a river over the edge of the volcano and toward their own ship. It would miss- barely. The two other ships prepared to straddle their smoking junker.

They cleared the wave just in time as red rain bore down upon the two enemy vessels in a violent stream. Lava instantly melted metal and ate through the hulls, where it didn’t spray off everywhere. Flesh seared. Bones blackened. The screams of the damned on those forsaken ships etched itself forever into Raza’s skull as he watched every moment, unblinking. A trembling jaw held no breath captive.

Neither of the pursuers escaped the island’s wrath. All at once a cheer erupted across the captured boat. Zericon agents jumped and hooted in resplendent cries of success. Oun danced with the dark-skinned man. Valius and Karya thrust their fists into the air in victory.

Raza sat still in the gunner’s seat. A few of the pirates had jumped for the water. Sharks had followed the rusty blood streaking from the ships, all the way here. He didn’t even see as Bethany sprinted up to his side.

‘Raza! That was ingenious! You saved all our lives!’ She didn’t give him time to react while she ably yanked the boy from the seat and squeezed him in a hug. ‘I’m so proud of you!’

Up at the wheel Shale and Pumpkin Hair gave a salute, each banging a fist on their chests before raising it over their heads. Down below on the decks, brilliant blue eyes locked with his. Valius gave a nod. Ever so slightly, his lip curled into a smirk.

Raza let out an empty sigh. Heat escaped his chest like a cloud of poison freed, as he leaned in. For a few seconds at least, in her arms, in this sea air, it felt like victory.


	23. Heed The Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the ships start sinking, the rats start swimming. As the pirate vessel's massive leaks begin to show through like Swiss cheese, Raza is pressed to help or make friends with the sharks.

The only problem with what was probably- in all likelihood, given the calculations and probability of oncoming liability, a pyrrhic victory- was the overwhelming fact that in the last fifteen to twenty minutes their ship had lost a markable foot of water clearance. As the rest of their ragged band of survivors cheered and brandished their weapons like avenging pirates, Raza stared at the shoreline. It would take a bit of time now to manoeuvre around the pool of lava curtaining down into the ocean, and slowly expanding the mass of the island, though the broad turn around would likely more than account for that. They probably had to go back.

The ship began a wonky turn anyway under Shale’s command of the helm. They were headed back to the action, and the inevitable death awaiting at the hands- or… tentacles of the sea kraken. That was no good, but what could he do?

The others had left him alone in favour of tending to their casualties. A few of the various agents knelt around the redhead sailor and applied healing spells until he was no longer unconscious. Oun and Bethany helped him to his feet. He was in good hands.

As for the blond up above, there was less delicacy administered: While Shale manned the wheel his pumpkin-haired teammate had pulled the blond boy back into the cabin and flashed a single crimson gem, assumably some kind of healing. The golden-haired sailor stumbled forth into life a few moments later, clutching his head. At least he was able to wave down to his counterpart.

There was still a serious question at hand. Seeing as Valius was the de facto captain of the entire ship and crew at this point it made sense to go and bother him. Raza wandered over to a congregation of agents and tapped on the man’s broad shoulder.

Valius, leader of the entire universe, stopped mid-sentence and turned to glance casually to his minion. ‘What is it?’

‘The ship is sinking, _ slowly, _ but it’s sinking.’ Raza emptily stared around at the faces of Karya, Bethany, the shotgunner, and the purple-haired young man with no name all waiting on their leader’s words.

‘What?’, asked Bethany concernedly. ‘We look upright.’

‘We’re still afloat,’ Valius assured her, waving it off. ‘We’ll make it.’

The portly blonde girl wasn’t so sure all of a sudden. ‘How fast are we sinking? H- how can you tell?’ Her pretty sky-blue eyes locked with Raza’s.

Honesty had to be the best policy. ‘I’d say at a rate of a foot every seventeen and a half minutes-’

‘Plenty of time,’ Valius announced, cutting the boy off.

Bethany wandered over to the side of the ship, with Raza in tow. She leaned over the railing, barely clearing it with her chest. ‘How can you tell?’

Raza pointed at the hull. ‘You see that metal plate down there?’ To be fair, the side of the ship was a collage of conflicting metals cheaply welded on amidst massive dents and some little holes, but one dark plate stood out a little bit. ‘Count the rivets still visible, they’re less and less every few minutes. We’re slowly taking on water.’

The woman shook her head. ‘No… no, this isn’t good.’ Again she looked to Raza, hanging on his reply. ‘Do you think we’ll make it?’

The tan young man did some mental math. ‘I really don’t know. If it were just this then maybe- probably. At this reduced speed we’re barely limping along, and the more water we take on the slower we’ll move. At this rate if we do make it we might be up to our ankles by the time we get there, and that’s if it somehow doesn’t capsize.’

She backed away in a hurry. ‘No, no no no no. We can’t sink. I’m not going in that water with the sharks!’ Insecure arms wrapped her chest as she glanced to the sea.

At that moment of all moments Karya swept up from behind. One smooth motion seized his collar and stepped between his legs, choreographed like a dancer, as she walked him back to the railing, slamming him half over the edge. Pelvis to pelvis, nose to nose, the girl met his gaze with a glare.

‘What the hell do you think you’re doing!?’, she snarled. ‘_Bethany’s afraid of water and you’re antagonising her!?_’

‘How was I supposed to know?’, he defended, now short of breath. This woman was surprisingly strong.

‘You don’t even listen. Every time you get upset you wander off have a temper tantrum like a child!’ Karya shook him in her grip just a little.

Focusing on fighting was going to get them both nowhere. ‘The ship is sinking. A couple of us need to go down there and do something about it.’

That brought another throttle. His spine banged against the metal guard wall. ‘You don’t give the orders here!’, snapped Karya.

Raza shrugged. ‘Who cares who gives what order? I’m not going to let this heap go down and kill us all just because I don’t want to acknowledge the problem!’

Yet another intervening hand of unwelcome manufactured fate descended upon the chaos, in the form of Valius’ steely grip. Even more forcefully, Raza was yanked from Karya’s grip like a ragdoll. Off he went with a hand around his upper arm.

‘You want to fix it? Prove you’re a man.’ He steered the black-haired boy along to a large metal hatch on the deck. The shotgunner immediately ran over to help, and together they got it open, letting it swing up and slam back on the deck with a rusty squeal.

Valius spared no time, hopping down into the relative darkness. Next was the dark-skinned helper with the bush of curly hair. Then it was Raza’s turn. He had no chance to back out now, not after that. The ship kind of needed to stay afloat. There was nothing for it but to vault down into the rusty darkness below, so he did.

The boy landed with a dull, metallic thud, feet planted firmly on the ground. An inch to the left would likely have broken his heel, suggested by a bolt sticking out of the ground. That would not have been a pretty impact. Raza almost immediately put that aside and carried on in the tracks of his allies. Under the deck was a mess. A few lights still worked, swinging from cords and covered by plastic shells to stop them shattering. Most had anyway. It was fine, the holes in the hull illuminated the broad of the room anyway.

Realistically there wasn’t much to see. A long corridor full of portholes was reinforced with metal beams and draped with rigging of some sort all across the walls. Bound lengths of rope and braided metal wire hung from everywhere, along with metal plates gently swinging against the walls in the worst water-based wind chime ever. There was no sign of water so far. Raza caught up to Valius and the unnamed dark-skinned man as they descended below, into the depths of the ship.

This time it looked to be narrow hallways. All of this was new to Raza, really. The extent of his knowledge on watercrafts began and ended with every new step. There was still no water yet. That was a good sign. Various rooms all caught his curiosity, ranging from crew quarters to the mess hall and communications. That last would have been good, if the other two were not in a rush to kick open every door, weapons drawn, and then move on.

Down another floor they found the first sign. Raza paused in the stairway and glanced down at the pool forming ankle-deep on the floor. It had to be coming from somewhere.

Valius blindly splashed on down the hallway and stopped at a box tucked into a nook on the wall. Ever so gracefully he tore the door off its rusted hinges and tossed a… thing to the shotgunner. Then a pair of goggles went flying the man’s way.

‘You cover the left, I’ll take the right,’ Valius ordered. The dark-skinned man nodded and splashed off. Then the captain turned to Raza. ‘Grab a welding pack and goggles and go check on the bilge pump. You see a leak, you patch it.’ There was no more instruction. Valius merely slung a tank on his back, grabbed some goggles, and headed into the wherever.

Two welding tanks remained, each about three feet tall and with a valve on top. A long hose attached to one side, ending in some sort of welding gun- _ maybe? _ It was hard to know what one looked like without any real previous experience. Raza cautiously loaded one on his back. Hard, heavy metal graciously dragged him down like a lead weight. It wasn’t all that bad though: It had the added bonus of resting awkwardly on his spine with all the similarity of laying on a rock. There was nothing for it. He grabbed his own eye protection and… stood there. Valius went right and mister guy went left. That left Raza with… _ down, okay_.

Water fountained down the stairs enough to suggest the lower floor still had some breathing room. It did, in fact. Up to his waist was still technically not ceiling level. At least the lights still worked, in this rusted, stinking metal soup pot of an abyssal dungeon. Oranges and reds tainted the water a lovely shade of tetanus. It was now far too late to worry about open wounds. Raza instinctually followed the sound of rushing water over to an open little room marked “SUPPLY CLOSET”.

There was indeed a hole, about the size of a human torso. The raw force of incoming water pushed him away upon approach, threatening to knock him off his feet. The young man sighed and glanced around. Those metal scraps up above had been for repairs. If there was such an immediate danger then there had to be more waiting around somewhere. He sloshed down the corridor a little more until some nearly smacked him in the face. It would do.

It was a narrow supply closet. Internal cogwheels began turning. With a couple of jagged sheets of metal under his arm Raza leaned hard against the doorway and lifted his leg onto one shelf row. He then did the same with the other, hoisting himself above most of the current.

Today had brought too many gifts of judgement and failure to care anymore. Yes, this was some obscure device strapped to his back and threatening to grind his spine smooth as he stooped against the ceiling with a lightbulb dangling on his shoulder, smacking his chin. Whatever this mysterious welding device did or how it worked was a mystery. _ Yes, of course. Bring it on. _ Raza turned the valve on the top of the tank and- first he put his goggles on. Then he started flipping random switches on the hose-gun-thing. One excreted a metal rod when held down. The other lit up some flame as brilliant as a blue star. That seemed to be in order.

Now of all times the realisation hit. It hit like a jet of water actually, with more than enough force to blow him away. That was pretty strong water he was standing over. Trying to apply these stupid sheets of metal would not be easy. They were going to either get washed away or slam into his and take his knees out for good.

What gems did he have again? Would any help? He had… a cat. _ Nope. _ He had a jellyfish mushroom thing. _ Maybe not. _ He had a healing spell he would no doubt need later. That was useless to heal a lifeless metal construct. A mind gem was ineffective on cold steel. There was the Antigon gem, or rock. It looked more like a rock. It also didn’t do anything, so that was a bonus. There was… the spiky, glowing, teal monstrosity. It seemed to do nothing too. This was great. Again he was seated with an impossible task.

Raza sighed into his hands. The ship was sinking. He was now up to his knees, with maybe three feet of water clearance left. His only real chance was to try and apply a patch after the room had flooded out. Then he would have to try and swim out through the narrow doorway with that fifty pound piece of crap on his back before he inevitably drowned. That was of course assuming this was the only place the ship had a giant hole in it.

It would be smarter to cut a hole in the ceiling. At least then he could escape. Raza paused for a moment in the flooding room. Why not? Hopefully he wasn’t over a heavy desk or a friend. Other than that, who would care? It was smarter than dying.

Blackness consumed the room.

There was maybe a foot of air left. Nobody seemed to know or care where he went. On top of that there were no footsteps from up above. He was running out of time. On went the torch.

One layer soon fell on his head as it loosed itself from the ceiling. Rows of circuits, tubes, and other important-looking things waited in the gap. Raza desperately thrust his head up into the hole and stole a breath of stale, musty air. A powdery sting stole through his esophagus, searing down to and through the lungs. He ducked back down and kept cutting from under the water. Wires burned. Pipes severed, leaking more water. Eventually they gave way. There was now only time for maybe one last breath… and about ten minutes’ worth of cutting.

It stung. Breathing hurt so much. Something scratched all the way down as he sucked in air.

So he started cutting.


	24. Thunder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fighting never ends. With the ship not on the bottom of the ocean, the time has come to take a second crack at it.

At around the minute and a half mark of holding in a sandpaper breath without coughing became a marathon feat of planetary proportions. Air so desperately needed to escape. The hole wasn’t nearly done. This was bad.

How anyone managed to hold their breath for more than a minute without passing out was beyond him. Right now broad sight was beyond him, as he cut near-blind under the goggles, in the graveyard water. Only the scraping of his fingers on the lower cut hole guided his path around to make a new opening. That dim little light- those two dim little lights were his only source of… wait, two?

Maybe there were miracles after all. One, now two more glowing lights appeared, cutting around the edges of the steel incision. What looked hopeless now took only another thirty seconds. Brain cells screamed as sight blurred and darkened. Raw adrenaline alone stopped the drive to let go.

As the metal plate lifted up like magic and a hand hoisted him up by the top of his welding tank Raza sucked in sweet, clean air, breaching like a whale. Immediately the boy fell over. The weight of the metal monster on his back nearly crushed his chest. He rolled sideways. Air was still air. He was alive.

Valius disappeared into the hole without a word.

‘You really are crazy, you know dat?’, muttered a deep voice. ‘We asked you to check de bilge pumps, not try an’ seal de lower deck on your own.’ The shotgunner merely knelt over the helpless boy. At this point Raza could have been crushed like a fly. His heaving coughs only drove the man to shake his head. ‘You breathed in de insulation, didn’t you? It stings, I know. Lay still.’

A blue glow from the man’s glove brought new form and feeling. Without warning Raza’s lungs began to flood from the inside. It was impossible not to sputter as he began to suffocate. Limbs kicked wildly. This wasn’t fair.

‘You’re not gonna drown, it’ll just feel like it. Relax an’ let it out.’ The man undid the straps on Raza’s metallic backpack of death.

There was that adrenaline again, accelerating his fading heart rate as Raza flailed wildly up to his hands and knees like an animal. Convulsing forced his diaphragm up into his molars as he coughed and heaved violent. That was no simple sting in his chest anymore. Balls of needles, poison- soft and burning hot, scouring brushes- every wretching cough that upended his innards hit like a molten ball of steel wool locked inside. It wanted out.

Finally as internal bleeding nearly set in the stinging came out. Only empty, hollow pain remained. It took a good few minutes to realise the glittering sparkles trapped in the watery vomit and half-eaten pastry now spreading across the floor. There was that pirate insulation that probably took a year off of his life. The floor now glittered like rusty diamonds.

A few gobbets of bile and saliva dripped down. Raza spat until there was nothing left but the taste. ‘Thank you.’ His voice was only a dry rasp.

The man nodded. ‘You don’t want to breathe dat. It’ll kill you. Silly fool.’ Nonetheless he extended a helping hand up.

In no way was Raza about to decline. He gripped hold and was hoisted up like a puppet on a string. The fellow dusted the boy off and set him on his feet. Raza nodded again, starting at last to breathe. It all still hurt. ‘Thank you. That was some sort of cleansing magic, right?’

‘Yeah, pretty basic but levelled up a lot. I don’t like infections,’ said the man.

At some point it needed to be asked. Calling this guy whatever nickname was easiest just wasn’t doing the trick. ‘Hey,’ Raza asked. ‘What’s your name? I don’t believe I caught it.’

The strange fellow laughed. ‘I didn’t throw it. Silik Marnebo.’ Silik offered a hand to shake.

It was shaken. ‘Raza Kulan, nice to meet you. Thanks for saving my life.’

Silik nodded. ‘Yeah. Listen, you get back an’ go check on de holes we patched here. I’ll go and find de bilge pump.’ He didn’t leave room for argument, instead splashing off toward the stairs.

Raza dropped to his knees. He’d really screwed up this time. There wasn’t much he could do. Was he now just going to wander the deck and look at their patchwork? That was sinecure. Right now though it didn’t matter. Valius was taking care of the one hole. Raza climbed back up to his shaky feet and began scanning around for… assumably more leaks.

On that note, how was a bilge pump supposed to work if it was immersed in water? Sure, maybe he was completely new to all of this, but something there felt off. What could he have done anyway if it was broken? Stopping the leaks seemed more important.

Eyes caught sight of a patch job in one of the rooms. A sheet of metal had been softly welded onto the wall in… most of the area it had been stuck to. Little bits of daylight showed through. Raza sighed and wandered over, This looked like a vital fix if they took on any more water. He set in on the task.

That in turn inspired another thought: If they did sink, where were the lifeboats? There didn’t appear to be any. Raza paused from his welding, hit by the math. That meant that even the pirates were figuratively and literally sunk if they got hit. Did they not believe in surrender or safe escape? What kind of a world was this?

There was no time for that. He finished patching the gaps and carried on with his inspection, until a voice rang out. Valius called. Raza dropped everything and headed back to the… hole in the floor. The captain had already climbed up and free by the time Raza returned. Silik too was present.

‘Hole’s patched,’ said Valius bitterly. ‘What about the water pumps?’ He looked to Silik.

‘Working,’ the man replied.

Where were they, then? Raza sighed into his hand as he rubbed his face. This was not what he had planned for his day.

The leader grabbed his welding pack and headed for the stairs. ‘Come on, let’s get back to business. We’ll send the three leftovers down to keep an eye on things.’

So that was that. As the three headed back up to the deck it was just decided by Valius that Karya and a member of someone else’s team were to follow his orders. Who gave him the authority? Silik had said nothing. Up on deck the three in question were called over and told to go watch below. Welding tanks were issued to each, along with instructions not to screw up. The trio agreed without question. Was anyone going to object at some point? What was Raza missing?

Evidently not. Life carried on under Valius’ command. Now that the ship wasn’t sinking anymore everyone was free to get back to business. Most of the wayward agents had reassembled into teams. Shale’s presence indicated that the two sailors had resumed their post at the helm. Things were back on track.

By now the ship had limped back along to the tip of the island, near enough to see the action. That monster of a kraken was still wreaking havoc. More than a few ships had been replaced by another wave of pirate vessels. Some Zericon ships pulled out of the harbour and headed for the action. Under Valius’ orders their own followed along. It wasn’t gunned down.

That boarding hatch opened on one of them, though. Excited banter erupted from the rest of Raza’s peers.

‘Reinforcements!’, said Bethany to herself. She looked to Raza excitedly. ‘Thank goodness, huh?’

A shrug rolled off of Raza’s shoulders. ‘I guess. I thought we’d be pulling back into port by now.’

Bethany shook her head. ‘No, not unless we can’t float anymore. We’re obligated to keep fighting.’ She hefted her hammer in both hands, watching the horizon. ‘And thanks for pointing that out, about the ship.’

‘Yeah, of course,’ Raza replied. This whole sea skirmish wasn’t going to end well, was it? ‘What will happen if we do force them back? Will we have to attack them at their base?’

She nodded. ‘Yeah. I hear agents on Origin Island already are but we’ll be sent in to attack from the seaside.’

The tan boy sighed. Rusted seawater mingled with the beads of sweat forming in his helmet. ‘I figured.’

An elbow nudged him gently. ‘Hey, don’t be stressed, we made it this far.’ Bethany smiled at the young man. ‘We’re doing great. And it was awesome back there. You took down two ships in less than thirty seconds!’

And their crews. ‘Yeah.’ A gloomy tone haunted his voice.

Then came the boarding tethers. Two metal spears harpooned their way through the side of the deck. Raza carefully wandered over and stood nearby for assistance. Nobody needed to smack into the ship like a bird in a window and fall to their deaths.

Three teams flew on board, sailing across the electric blue lines. Among them was a familiar face. A faint beacon of excitement lit up like a candle deep within as an aged man with dark hair swung up and landed feet on the metal floor. There was no grey unitard on this man. A long black trenchcoat hung over strong shoulders and a chest covered in grey armour- real armour. Black pants ended in big black boots. Nothing covered his head, except for an aura glow like a soft sheen of light reflecting off like some sort of faint forcefield. Brown eyes locked on Raza as he looked around.

‘Hey kid,’ said the man. ‘Long time no see,’ he said with a laugh, wrinkling his weathered face. It was Dusty.

That brought an uneasy smile to his own as well as Raza nodded back. ‘Hey. I thought you were on crutches.’

Dusty snickered. ‘Nothing keeps me down, kid.’

The rest of what was assumably his crew appeared over the side of the deck. An older man with a round face, a short jawline beard, and long grey hair sported a blue overcoat with a high collar. Grey pants were covered in pockets. He drew forth some sort of… crossbow thing? It had a bowstring, but also a collapsible spike, and a crosshair. It looked to have a sort of rifle barrel in there too. That thing was a monster. The whole piece strapped to his arm.

Next was a woman. Her long, tired face smiled as she looked to her allies. Her brown hair had grown out into grey. Gentle blue eyes caught the light. She too sported her own style of a long grey jacket with some sort of metallic drone spheres hovering over each shoulder. Black pants were striped with rows of little pockets, each holding throwing knives. A four-point shield materialised on the arm of her gloved hand.

Lastly was a younger man, possibly in his thirties, definitely of Asian descent. A fellow in a top hat and goggles looked around calmly as he dusted himself off. Dark wavy hair flowed out down to his shoulders. A red ringmaster coat had been bedecked with gears and ticking clocks for… reasons probably known only to him. His red pants had been set with tassels, probably for style. The man drew for a walking stick. As he pressed a button the tool pulled back its shell, revealing a rapier, and a row of gun barrels.

Each bore a Z on the left breast of their uniforms. They were Zericon, but from what branch was unknown. Among the other teams now present, there were no signs of purple and neon-green hair. Where were they?

Karya slunk up from out of nowhere. ‘Holy crap!’

Dusty looked the ship over. ‘This heap has seen better days, huh?’ This he said to Raza.

‘Heh, yeah,’ said Raza with a weary laugh. ‘It almost sunk when we got chased over the cape of the island.’

The older man nodded at that. ‘Well, let’s get to it.’ With a look to his team followed him, as he plodded off toward the others.

‘That’s team Gold Omen!’, ranted Karya excitedly. ‘Why the hell was he talking to a loser like you?’ She looked at her tan ally.

Raza shrugged. ‘I met him in the hospital.’

Evidently that answer was not good enough. Karya shook her head. ‘No, moron, they’re number four in all of Zericon. They’re elites. They don’t talk to losers like us.’

Not everyone was as stuck-up as Karya. ‘Evidently they do,’ Raza replied, just a little smug. So there were team rankings? Is that why Valius cared so much about his status?

Two more people zipped along the tether line before the cables retracted. A pair of sailors jumped aboard, a boy and a girl. They immediately ran for the helm. Maybe they were standard-issue, sent along to manage the ship while the agents fought. That would make sense.

Now the fight neared. The kraken and fleet of enemy ships were too close to ignore. This was happening, one way or another. Unlike the others Raza kept his weapon clipped on his belt rim. There was no point bearing arms if the enemy likely required a long-distance turret to engage with.

More cracking and booming explosions split the air like an axe through a melon. Up ahead an entire pirate ship was folded into a V-shape as a massive tentacle hammered down onto it. Needless to say, it sunk pretty fast. And all the ships were now headed into battle, to shoot at each other around this giant beast.

Up at the front of the ship- the bow? -Dusty and his team readied their weapons. From his coat he drew dual rifles, each with a triple barrel on the end. A high-pitched whine pierced the air like a reactor powering up, just as a white light shot from the guns. The beam reached out for over a mile, punching through a massive tentacle with a hole as wide as a forearm. His teammates opened fire as well. A white beam with a halo of green beads, a red four-point spinning laser, and a slew of what turned out to be explosive bullets peppered the kraken with dead-eye aim.

Raza just stood there and watched, arms at his sides. He had no words.

Then the woman summoned a beast. From her raised fist, a pillar of rainbow light shot up presumably into space. Omni-coloured lightning shot back down all around with a thunderous crackle. The water moved in bulk as a beast rose from the depths. Tusks were the first to show, then glowing white eyes. A thick mane of rainbow fur had been braided into a forest of dreadlocks. It had the face of a beast, with a short muzzle. It had the body of a sea creature with a massive, spined shell. Powerful forelimbs broke through the water revealing webbed claws. The creature shone in changing colours like an iridescent light show.

Karya squealed. ‘Siren summed her Rainbow Angry Narlus!’

The monster in question let out a roar as it achieved awareness. The ship moved in its wake, both each about the same size.

A quick glance around told a lot in a hurry: Raza wasn’t the only one standing and watching in awe. Half the crew marvelled in place at the four elites. There was a spectacle to be seen. All Raza had was a housecat and a whip.

By this point they had reached engagement range. Valius pushed through his team like saloon doors. ‘Come on, we can’t miss out!’

Karya was first to follow. Bethany tapped Raza’s arm as she ran for the front of the ship. He had to go along.

Or not. Definitely not. Not was better by a long shot. A dozen agents stopped in their tracks and turned tail at the sight. One massive tentacle rose up, and then swung down upon them.

So this was it.

The floor was knocked out from under him. The boom nearly deafened through the helmet. The appendage landed hard on the bow and… bounced off. Four lone agents stood their ground as if nothing happened. Dusty and his crew kept firing as a bubble of splash water trickled off all around them. They weren’t even phased. The tentacle was thusly torn apart by their rapid fire.

Raza just laid on the deck and stared, with the world swept out from under him.


	25. Pyramid Effect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The unfair world of violent sporting activities recognised as maritime genocide in the name of perceived justice. Team cooperation is called into play in the most interesting of ways.

The world carried on regardless of the meaningless faces that clung to its rugged surface like fleas on a rug. There was nothing more in a void of black expanse and candle-lit stars to reach or touch than the mere moments of illusion that painted the surface of the air beyond the eyes. This pastel masterpiece shaped the sights and sounds before Raza’s young eyes into a dazzling array of blues and whites. Laser guns tore holes clean through tentacles like red-hot wires through flesh, and came out the other side. A red beam sizzled scars into the beast’s surfaces without stop or mercy. Mercy was not a word past the shoreline.

It went both ways though: Another tentacle swung around to hit the side of the ship. In response, Siren’s glowing iridescent beast dove to catch the impact, actually stopping it as it hit the creature’s shelled belly. Its back bashed hard into the ship, likely denting the hull. There would be more leaks to patch now.

By this point others had joined in the action. More of the newer recruits had rushed to the front of the ship to join the assault on the kraken- or hide behind Gold Omen’s forcefields. Either way was about the same result. They summoned beasts into the sea and air and set them off toward the kraken. Some targeted pirate vessels. Raza climbed to his feet in time to see Bethany dash toward a mounted cannon and climb in.

So it was this time again. The enemies started first, indicated by the booms and splashes nearby. Raza sighed and headed for the same beaten-up old shrapnel gun he’d been saddled with last time that, mysteriously, nobody else wanted to man. That sure was a funny coincidence.

At the very least now there was a marginally useful outline in place for how to use it. The time had come to create more casualties. Raza climbed into the heap and aligned it at the nearest ship that looked like it could be in range. He would have to aim high.

Not everyone manned the guns. As the sailors pulled the ship around and out of the immediate swing range of the sea monster, the lady Siren’s equally colossal beast lumbered through the ocean alongside the side at an impressive speed. It wasn’t parting from its master. Soon it placed itself between the ship and the enemy monster. Then the firing started.

By now Raza was in prime shooting range to take aim at the pirate vessels. He rigged up the newly familiar targeting technique and jammed his feet against the wheel. A shrapnel bomb flew out with an unwieldy boom and soared across the ocean. Where it landed really wasn’t any information Raza was privy to. The sound of an explosion melded with a flash of light. The gunner box lit up like a glowstick in a can. Everything went black.

***

Tearing metal erupted across the deck. The sound was only a splinter of the scene. Blonde locks obstructed tender blue eyes when Bethany turned to catch a glimpse. That sound was way too close. Pausing to think didn’t even register. She hopped out of her gun turret and to the deck, tripping to all fours. Dust filled the air. Smoke choked the oxygen away. The chubby girl climbed up to her feet regardless and stumbled blindly on. Something had struck the ship, right by the edge of the deck. What could she do?

Bethany ambled clumsily toward the scene of the attack. Pause took hold as her boots struck twisted metal. More explosions rocked the shick, drowning out the sinking surge plunging down through her chest. She pushed on, until eyes scoured through the smoke, upon a body. Immediately Bethany knelt down. Tan skin of a bare hand was quickly clasped into her own. It was Raza.

‘No no no no,’ muttered Bethany through the debris. ‘Come on.’ The first course of action had to be waking him up. Moving a body was bad if he was seriously injured. A glance down to his… shrapnel-embedded hole in his right shoulder said this was serious. Now came a serious slap across his jaw. At least his helmet was still on. His head _ seemed _ intact. ‘Raza, come on! Wake up! Raza!’

Valius’ voice cut through the panic. ‘Get back to your station! We don’t have time to-’

This time the explosion came from behind- up by the bow. Those four in the fancy clothes were suddenly engrossed in smoke and rubble. Somehow their outlines were untouched even then.

There wasn’t really time to fuss. All she could do was grab the poor boy by the- the… what was right? If she took him by the ankles he would be dragged on his back through the mess on the deck. She couldn’t throw him over the shoulder with that scrap of metal in him. Between a shrug and a shake of her head Bethany grabbed Raza’s arms and heaved the helpless lump away to… to… where was safe? The metal in him would at least exert some pressure and stop the bleeding. Unless he was a mirror twin he wasn’t likely to bleed out, either. He’d be fairly fine as long as he got out of danger- but where?

There was nowhere, really. All she could do was drag him along to the middle of the deck, hopefully away from any incoming attacks. There were no guarantees anymore.

‘Bethany! Get back to your post!’, screamed Valius. The captain called.

That really was uncalled for. The blonde bit her lip. Raza was seriously in danger of being killed. That guy seriously didn’t like him, at all. No other choice remained but to sprint back to her gun and climb back in for battle. The metal seat groaned under her weight. To be fair though, anything heavier than an anaemic model would have made this ratty heap give off worrying sounds of stress. It was more than likely held together with bandages and melted cheese. Really, it wasn’t Raza’s fault, he couldn’t control his memory loss. She gripped the handles of the gun and readied her fingers on the triggers. Dual machine guns waited to tear holes in flesh and metal.

The time to shoot came just in… _ well, just in time _, as pirates on flying monsters swung around and down at the ship, this time from the front, hurling explosives. They were all targets to be picked off. Two more explosions picked off gunner turrets, judging by the tinny explosions from across the ship. They nearly killed Raza already. Those pirates had to die. Bethany took aim and pulled the trigger.

Up in the sky, a man riding a metallic disk with robot arms, covered all over in blue crystal lights, pulled a sharp turn to avoid the rows of bullets riding close on his tail. He ducked and weaved before coming in for a bomb throw.

_ Bingo. _

All too quickly he came head-on into an approaching wall of bullets. Almost in slow motion he fell back and down, into the sharky waters. It was better him than Bethany. Another swept in on the rainbow-haired girl’s gun at the same time she narrowed her sights on an enemy ship. She was a sitting duck. Bethany turned her gun and unloaded the chambers. Bullets left screaming trails through the air as the barrels reddened like fire. The pirate moved too fast. Maybe it was luck though, as the bomb exploded in the bullet stream and rained _ mostly _ harmlessly down overhead on the poor woman.

Even then she was out of time. A cry run out across the deck. ‘Enemy ship preparing to board from port side! All hands ready!’ It was one of the supplementary sailors.

That meant Bethany. As new back into the game as she was, brute strength was her specialty. Knocking harpoons out of the port was as easy as screws into wood: It could be done. And if they decided to jump or swing aboard, this hammer was ready for some baseball practice. She wouldn’t let Raza down.

Those stupid aerial pirates were still buzzing around like flies. One of their kind hurled yet another bomb into the seat of her gun just as she climbed out. The explosion kissed her back like a steamroller. One stout woman was sent flattened to the floor. A large chest padded her fall- painfully, leaving her helmeted head to knock hard against the floor. A headache was well on its way after that.

This wasn’t her day. Back behind her the gun’s cylindrical cabin had peeled open like a banana. That was too close. The girl picked herself up off her skinned knees and started to book it, past Raza’s unconscious body. _ Sorry… _

She wasn’t the only one. Clementine with the orange hair and a couple new faces joined in the defence. All seven watched as the enemy ship steered hard into their waters. Metal collided like screaming saws. Pings and pops tore the fragile hull open even further. An earthquake on the sea’s surface formed on deck, tearing the floor out from under her. Bethany once again hit the hard, metal deck on all fours with a grunt.

Nobody helped her up. They were all busy, weapons in hand. She rose in turn and readied as assailants landed on the guardrails and drew their own armaments. They were being boarded. One stood out among the rest. A red-headed woman with a robotic eye implant honed in on Bethany and waved a blade-hooked chain, snapping it like a whip.

‘I’ve got the fat bitch!’, roared the hag.

Now it was on. Bethany charged. It was hard to raise a whip at close range, with a caved-in skull.

Life never played fair though. A low strike tore through ankle and boot as the pirate woman swept low and pulled back. Hooks barely missed the Achilles tendon. About the same time her back hit the floor, a cry escaped her lips all on its own, goaded by the searing pain. Walking wasn’t possible in this shape.

Then came the damned guns, opening fire. The pirates didn’t care about their own kind. The people that didn’t duck got filled with bullets and shrapnel as the enemy ship opened fire. Again life was cruel, but in a lucky way. Bethany covered her face just in time. A second later may have irradiated the eyes out of her skull by laser light.

The shots never reached the masts. One older man with grey hair waved a gloved hand, casting a blue wall across the bulk of the firing radius. Bullets and lasers were stopped in their tracks. Shrapnel ricocheted back into the bodies of anyone in the way, friend or foe. Metal didn’t care. Something hard bounced off of Bethany’s helmet with a “K’TANG!”, provoking a flinch.

The pirate woman had ducked, unfortunately. She was fine enough to start pulling on the chain. Now-bloodied hooks ate into her flesh as Bethany was dragged screaming toward her. It tore through muscle.

The lightshow was far from over. Over walked the Asian man in the top hat. With a smile he flicked aside a lock of wavy hair and unsheathed a swordstick. Pirate raiders swung in on ropes this time. There were no fancy tethers. The top-hatted man didn’t flinch. If anything his smile grew. In a split second there was a yellow flash of nebulous energy, bursting loose. He was gone from the galaxy of energy expanding in his wake. Trails followed as he darted like lightning up into the air faster than a blink, then again, and again. He stood on nothing but air as he lopped at rope and metal cables one by one, darting back and forth and cleaving through without any trouble at all.

Men and women fed the sharks seconds after he zapped back onto the deck almost as soon as he left.

That pain in Bethany’s leg was still going nowhere. The metal-eyed sea hag had paused to watch the spectacle. Now was the chance. The hurt had to be ignored at all costs. The girl raised her weapon and swung for kneecaps.

It only took one to bring her down. The woman roared in pain as the cartilage and bone in her knee broke with a wet, sickening pop like wooden plastic. She hit the deck with one hand on the floor. Bethany swung again, there was no hesitation when adrenaline footed the bill. This time she aimed for the face.

Circuits smashed inside that fragile skull.

One more pirate was down. Bethany sighed. Now all she had to do was pull the hooks out of her leg and… get intensive surgery. A fearful gasp forced her to suck in air long before she even apprehensively touched the chain. _ No, _ this was going to hurt…

_ Please no, don’t make me. _

She was arguing with herself. There was no other way, it had to come out. All she could do was bite down on her free arm and do it. First was the one in her calf. Pain was fire as it curved back out. That was one, of four.

Back in the action, the well-dressed Asian man casually strolled back and forth, inspecting the ship-side duels. Now and then he poked a pirate with his weapon and made them die. The grey-haired man pulled down his barrier by now and began sending shots into the enemy ship. Every bolt exploded like a mounted gun shot, tearing holes through whatever it hit.

The second hook pulled a cry from her weak body as it left. _ Please… no more. _

Blood started to draw under her intact uniform. The heat spread slick down her skin.

_ Three. _ She punched the deck. Finger bones gave an audible crack.

Now came the one buried in her foot, just by the heel. It hurt too much. A trembling, weak hand barely fumbled around it. She screamed. Now the blood flowed. Arm bones threatened to crack, tight in her jaw. Then the hook was out.

Bethany collapsed onto the metal deck and let her foot rest in its pool of blood. Here she laid. That was the game for today.

Then the top-hatted man wandered her way. Goggled eyes glanced down at her with a frown. He picked out a blue gem and snapped his fingers. Energy danced along his fingers as pointed at her leg. It shot out into Bethany. Then the pain was gone, along with the scars.

The man smiled again, and gave a little nod. Then he wandered off.

There was no rest for the wicked. Bethany climbed to her feet and hefted her hammer. Another ship was approaching.


	26. Where Daggers Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All good fights must come to an end, so that bigger and worse disasters can inevitably rear their ugly heads.

Whatever had hit, it hit harder than a freight train. Maybe actually a freight train was a good analogy, weighed up through and through. It probably had about the same strength behind it. So it was decided: A large locomotive phenomenon had done it. That worked.

The blur of a blue sky and a faint silhouette signalled the return of life. So did pain, actually. Raza screamed as a burning something tore a cold hole in his shoulder, letting freezing, salty air fill the void, followed by hot blood. Seconds later the wound disappeared, halfway through as he rolled on the deck. After a moment he stopped pressing his skull into the metal floor. Weak groaning was all that remained.

The world went on around him, as was expected. If it didn’t then something would have been seriously wrong. That meant however that a bullet did just lodge itself in his left forearm. Raza rolled onto his back. Then someone had mercy. Some kind soul reached down and lifted him up by his… left arm, of course. A surge of adrenaline forced him to his feet and out of the stranger’s grip.

Enough was enough, this was too much today for today. ‘Hands off the arm! I’m busy dying!’, snapped Raza angrily. The fact that he was writhing and bleeding everywhere wasn’t obvious enough, evidently.

Silver hair took his attention, along with blue eyes. It was… Siren? It was the woman from team Gold Omen, the actually good team. She glanced down at the injury. ‘Oh, that’s fresh. I’m sorry.’

Raza backpedalled at the speed of sound. ‘No, I am. I didn’t mean to yell at you, sorry.’

The older woman shook her head. ‘No, no. I should have noticed.’ She waved a hand over his arm and magically unwound the damage, even going so far as to pop the bullet out of the healing wound. It landed with a “tang” on the floor.

‘Thank you,’ Raza said automatically. ‘Again, I’m- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. It’s just been a long day and I’ve only been awake for maybe three days now?’ Why was he telling this to her? She likely didn’t care. Plus they were busy being shot at, this wasn’t the time.

Siren smiled. ‘You’ll learn. It gets easier as you go along.’ She wandered off with a nod, utterly unswayed by his plight, leaving Raza staring at the faint circular scar on his arm.

A glance told the story as it picked up since… something happened. What did go on? Gold Omen boarded the ship, the kraken thing attacked, and then there was a blank. No, he had manned that gun. He glanced over to said pile of scrap.

_ Right. Yes. _

He could have died. On the upside it looked like gunner duty was out. In fact, everything seemed marginally taken care of. Some time had passed. Most of the ships had sunk or fled. Wherever the sea monster had gone off to, it was welcome to stay there for as long as it liked. All that remained were a few wayward ships belting off from-the-hip potshots.

Over across the deck two girls and a boy were now being tended to for stray gunshot wounds. Sympathy now mixed with petty guilt. He had just whined to an elite agent who now healed other hard-working agents equally as railroaded into this hopelessly inescapable shipwreck of a battle. That was smooth. At least now as Raza scanned for further threats he failed to miss the fact that he could wave goodbye to the last of the ships. Their guns soon drifted out of range. No more potentially fatal shots could be lobbed into his allies- maybe, anyway.

What immediately mattered was already taken care of. Second was to find his allies. Among the helmeted faces only Bethany stood out. Somewhere deep inside a twinge of guilt hung over Raza like a raincloud as the young woman’s size caught his eye. There was a reason she stood out. At least she was visible. A sigh led the way over to his teammate.

Bethany noticed him first and ran over. Her hammer swung in her grip, the head close to her fist. ‘Raza! You’re okay!’ The woman placed her free hand on his shoulder. ‘Are you okay?’ She asked regardless of previous statements, looking him over.

The young man in question nodded. ‘Yeah, I think so. Are you?’

Bethany nodded. ‘Yeah. Raza, I thought you died when they blew up that gun.’

Things seemed to be easing off. The attitude on the ship had changed. Everyone milling about had now eased into a casual, unmotivated state. The only ones doing anything appeared to be the agents assigned to cleanup duty. ‘I guess I got lucky,’ Raza said in reply to Bethany’s comment. ‘I’m alive at least. What did I miss? How long was I out?’

Blonde locks swung as she looked around. ‘Um, pretty much everything. Siren drove back the Jalos into the ocean and we managed to stay afloat long enough for reinforcements to get here. To be honest, Gold Omen and Rising Star did most of it. Once they showed up nobody wanted to touch our ships.’

That was a new name. ‘Who are Rising Star?’

‘They’re number fifteen, they’re almost as good as Gold Omen,’ Bethany explained casually. ‘They showed up with the reinforcements after you were knocked out and backed us up on another ship. After that it was pretty much over and done.’

Raza nodded. ‘So are we heading back to port now?’

Her smile faded to falsehood. ‘Nnnno, not exactly. We’re dropping Gold Omen off on another ship so they can return to land and we’re going in to raid the pirate lair on Origin Island.’

_ Oh no. _ ‘Are you kidding me?’ He didn’t give her time to answer. ‘No, of course not. So I guess this is a normal mission for Zericon agents? Just keep going until we run out of energy or everyone not on our side is dead or arrested? And if we die we get replaced so someone else can do the same thing?’

Bethany emitted a wordless shrug. The answer wouldn’t come out, only breaking down into a sigh. Once more as she retracted and holstered her weapon, Bethany placed a reassuring hand on Raza’s shoulder.

This wasn’t good enough. This wasn’t what life should be. ‘I’m not happy,’ stated Raza.

‘It gets easier as you go. You just have to work your way up the ladder.’ Bethany had run out of positives to offer. She averted her gaze and wandered off to go find something more meaningful to do.

Soon an accompanying ship pulled up alongside their own smoking wreck. In lieu of a gangplank the Zericon vessel shot two tethers into the side of the already fragile hull. A long, blue platform materialised between them, forming a walkway between the ships. Raza only watched idly as the second pair of sailors and a few teams departed for safer shores. As Gold Omen passed by Dusty paused. A large hand thumped the boy on the back.

That five o’clock stubble of a mouth of his lifted into a smirk. ‘Glad to see you’re alive, kid. You had me worried for a bit.’

Raza straightened out. ‘Thanks. And… thanks for saving us.’

A course smoker’s laugh bellowed out. His weathered face now formed a whole smile. ‘Just helping out. From what I hear you were the hero today. I heard about the cliffside. Two for one? Genius. Keep up the good work.’

There was no majestic way around it. Praise from a master filled his head like helium. Raza chuckled. Someone thought he was worth something. ‘Thanks. I…’

The others had boarded. Dusty’s team waited patiently on the bridge. The man gave one final pat and headed off. ‘See you round.’ With one final wave he was off and away. Now it was back to reality.

Before anything else Raza knelt down and picked up that bullet. A little stub-nosed slug glinted dully in the daylight like tarnished metal. That at least meant it wasn’t made of lead. That was a good sign. Raza slipped it into the pockets attached to his uncompromisingly tight unitard. Like the gems they just seemed to vanish into the ether until pulled out. Evidently magical clothing was a dime a dozen. What was this world?

As was the norm Valius gave no time nor mercy to dwell on such trivialities. ‘Raza, get over here.’ Over by the mast had gathered his team. It didn’t help so much that they were still wearing helmets and thus blended in with the rest of the teams.

The young man ambled over with a resigned sigh. ‘So we’re going on the offensive again?’, Raza asked upon approach.

There was no nod of confirmation. Valius adjusted his helmet and fixed the fit of his glove. ‘Time is money. We need to make points and this is a good opportunity.’ The man never stopped. ‘Now that we’re all here I want to run through some things.’ He pointed at Bethany. ‘Next time I say leave it and get back to your post you do what I tell you, got it? I don’t care if you’re on fire. We were getting shot at and you abandoned your post.’

Bethany nodded glumly. ‘Yes sir-’

‘Shut up, I’m not done. We were under attack and you were running around making a target of yourself. Is this how you acted with your old team? Is this what you want people to know you by?’

‘No sir,’ replied Bethany.

He still wasn’t done. ‘You either work with me under my command like a real teammate or I have you reported and put back in stasis. You got me? Don’t make me take a personal interest in you like I do with him.’ The man pointed at Raza without looking.

Bethany nodded again. ‘Yes sir.’

It continued. ‘As for you.’ He turned his sights on Karya, who shrank back. ‘What the hell was that back there? You can’t take care of yourself? You need two juniors to come and save your stupid ass? You were taking two on at once a minute before that and suddenly one hostile has you dangling over the side of the ship?’

Karya wasn’t taking it. ‘He snuck up on me! I was-’

Valius cut her off with an open palm. ‘Don’t embarrass me like that.’

The redhead stamped angrily with a huff.

Then came Raza’s turn in the frying pan. Valius turned to the black-haired boy. ‘As for you, good work out there.’

_ What? _

Valius tapped his own leg with a flat hand. ‘Your performance so far? Down here.’ Then he tapped his shoulder. ‘What you did today was up here. I want to see that level of dedication every time we’re out in the field, got it?’

Arguing right now would kill the eerie high drifting like a fog through Raza’s brain. Instead he just nodded. ‘Yes sir.’

Valius cooled off. ‘Now we’ve got a few minutes of down time. Collect yourselves, get back in shape, and get ready. We’re ending these pirates once and for all.’ Then he wandered off, over toward Shale’s gang.

A sudden sharp boot slammed hard into Raza’s shin, dropping him to the floor. Karya glowered from behind her helmet, recoiling from her attack. ‘Show-off.’ She too stormed off.

Then there were two. Bethany immediately helped Raza back up to his… one foot and cautious toe contact on his injured leg. That was going to be a limp for a while.

‘Don’t worry about them,’ Bethany assured the boy. ‘She’s just angry that he chewed her out.’

Raza gingerly rubbed his injured shin. ‘This day needs to be over. Do we even get time off or are we seriously supposed to just keep doing this forever and sleep in bushes?’ It seemed a fair question to ask at this point.

‘No, we have rooms,’ Bethany explained. ‘Valius just really wants to get ahead so he’s pushing us for one hundred and ten percent.’

‘What’s his deal?’, snapped Raza.

The girl could only shrug. ‘Well, I don’t know personally, this is a new team for me too and I don’t know him, but did you look at his weapons? He has two. And he has experience leading groups of people like a leader. If I had to guess he was in the top hundred and fifty teams at some point.’

‘How many teams are there?’, enquired the tan one.

‘Four hundred. Once you get up to the top-tier ranks you’re automatically given a second weapon and a better uniform. Like a real two-piece. I guess he really wants to get that status back.’

Raza shrugged. ‘I really don’t care what rank we are. If we have to nearly die every day just to make him happy-’

He was interrupted. ‘Raza, Raza, Raza, stop. Please.’ Bethany put both hands over his mouth. ‘You’re angry and disgruntled, I get that. I even understand. He’s pushing us hard. But you  _ can’t _ go around talking like that. You’ll get all of us in trouble. You could even be killed.’ She let go, maybe as a sign of peace. ‘Just… don’t talk about it out loud, okay?’ Concern illuminated her eyes like neon lights. ‘They’ll come get you if you act like a threat to Zericon’s way of life.’

So there really was no way out, just endless service until death. It was slavery. Now there wasn’t even anyone to talk about it to. There wasn’t anything. Pain began to fill up inside like a bottle.

Over across the deck Shale let out a whistle. ‘Alright everyone! Listen up! We did a lot of damage out there but the job’s not over yet! We’ve only fought them back off our seas, now we gotta bring the fight to them! They’re scared and running like the little  _ bitches _ they are! We’re gonna hit their stronghold and  _ break _ those pirates like eggs! You got me!?’

A small cheer erupted from the general crowd. Raza stood in silence, and watched.

‘You know what they say, boys and girls! “Where daggers fall, titans walk above.” Well, let’s go drop some bombs on the pirates while the getting’s good! Let’s raid the pirates!  _ RAID! THE PIRATES! _ Yeah!’


	27. Hang Them High

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new captain takes command of the ship on route, paving the way for a strike team.

It was time to skip all the boring parts. Nobody cared, it didn’t matter anyway. What was important was getting back to the action. The world began to resume focus and relevance as the commandeered pirate vessel pulled up into the bay. Sirens began to scream. Pirate outposts decorated with bones and warning signs now awoke in a flurry of spotlights and bullets. This was where it got interesting.

Up at the front of the ship, Shale stood his ground. A smile crested his face like a whitecap on the open sea. Bullets tore through the hull as easily as a pencil through a cereal box. It didn’t matter. Three more ships followed their lead into the bay, the last barely slipping over a raising metal gate. Metalling squealing said it didn’t quite get away so easily. So they were fencing everyone in, huh? Now it was getting good.

Then came the second round. Cannonballs and lasers ripped into the stolen pirate ships and Zericon boats. Somewhere up at the wheel, those two weirdos knew the score. This wreck was going down one way or another. They weren’t going to make land.

Zericon agents manning the guns toppled an outpost tower.

Nearby enemy ships turned to open fire. Shale grinned wide as his ship reached ramming speed. Nobody said they had to reach the finish line in this old whore tub.

It was so delicious to see them running for their lives and abandoning ship. Shale grabbed hold of a convenient rope and braced as his body was flung horizontally through the air. As soon as the structural tremors eased off he jumped for the intact vessel. Not a one onboard didn’t follow suit. Now it was on. What pirates were left raised their weapons as the ship tilted thirty degrees. A tidal wave of Zericon agents swept like a tidal wave down toward them. SHale didn’t even bother with a weapon. A battle cry and two feet were all it took, as a flying double-barrelled kick launched his target back and tumbling off of the ship, hitting the railing hard on the way down.

It wasn’t long before control of the ship changed hands. Those two sailors did their best to steer their new ship toward the entrance to the pirate stronghold. Up ahead, carved out of rock, the open mouth of a pirate hide ships moored like teeth. Hollow cavernous eyes glared down on the trespassers. And then they started shooting fireballs. Ally ships out in the bay took the brunt of the assault. Luckily by now their own new ship had passed too close to take aim at.

Fair was fair though: The pirates deserved a welcome gift too. With a wave of his hand and a choreographed slide and shuffle, Shale called his allies to the guns. They could afford a drive-by before pulling in. Besides, they needed to make room for a parking space anyhow.

Fire was a beautiful thing. So were lasers, actually, and shrapnel bombs- and repurposed depth charges. These pirates really got creative with their naval weaponry. It exploded creatively too, when it hit down on their patchwork ships sitting dockside. In fact, the dock exploded nicely too. When it needed to, or didn’t. That was fine. Nobody needed a dock anyway.

From the open battlefield came more attacks. A few hit the water nearby. More hit the broad side of the hull. Once again a few guns were torn to pieces. It was fine, it was on the side not facing the docks anyway. With a wave of his hand he commanded the sailors to turn in toward the port. It was time to take the fight home.

Back on-deck the smoke rose from the holes.A sudden hand clamped down on Shale’s shoulder.

‘I can’t believe this worked,’ said the voice of Valius.

Shale let loose a laugh. ‘Hey man, we’re up against pirates. Gotta get crazy when you fight crazy. So how’re we doing for casualties?’

Valius readjusted his weapon clips. ‘Three. Two of the new ones and the new girl from my team. One dead.’

‘One of yours?’ Shale glanced back to the man.

Valius merely shook his head, swaying those brown locks.

Not once had the order been given to slow from ramming speed. Shale grabbed his tether line as they zoomed toward the narrow crevice between two ships. The dock would move. ‘Better hold on to something,’ he goaded.

Never before had the sight been seen of three ships simultaneously inhabiting the same space. Metal roared in agony across the cavern, torn and bent, sheared through itself and the tempered flesh of its own kind. Three ships violently became one. Scraps of dock exploded in all directions. Down on the rocky surface ahead, pirates fled for their lives. Dock worked ran hands through their hair and cussed along to the sight of rude gestures.

There was literally no time to hesitate. ‘Get the others. We’re on.’ One hand gesture summoned his crew. Rainbow hair flew wild as Oun glided into sight. The orange puffball that was Shalette sprinted up at marathon pace. Silik turned a corner and appeared from nowhere, shotgun in-hand.

Shale leapt off of the prow. The trio followed. On the way down Oun cast her ge, summoning a magical cushion for impact, and called it away as soon as they hit.

Numbers, numbers… adrenaline surged like a drug. Every second was a minute. On the way down there had been four- _ no, _ six dock workers. Three were dead-ahead. One was to the left. Two were hiding to the far right. As for armed fighters, Twelve peppered the area, mostly at shooting distance. Concrete barriers gave them partial cover.

A lot could happen in a couple seconds. The chainsaw was useless here. Instead Shale drew a rifle from his belt. Army training took over as he took to his heels and started shooting. That smirk was long gone, now was the time for focus.

The area was too large for four people. They’d be pinned down in seconds. A long stretch of flat stone made an open no man’s land to cross, followed by two sets of concrete stairs with wall railings. At the back end was a large, shuttered door. There was a lot of ground to clear to get there. Railings on that back, upper level gave too much cover. This was a shooting gallery.

Shalette was already on it. A red gem forged a wall of lava just to the left. The other three ducked behind it, covered by Shale as he side-stepped closer. Shot by shot he stood his ground.

Then came the supporting fire. Other Zericon agents pitched their hats into the ring, letting loose with gem creatures and assorted gunfire. A laser gun on one of the ships was still primed to aim at the upper-back levels of the room. _ Yes. _

Seconds ticked away as bullets were traded across the air. Timing was everything. Shale readied to move…

Then the firing stopped. They were reloading. Others took their chances jumping off the ship. A command called his crew onward, into the open grounds. He ended with a slide as he shoulder-checked into the far wall. Oun followed as he pointed left. Shalette followed on the right, backing Silik up. Both duos unloaded rounds as the stairs slid into sight. A lone pirate ducked and took aim at- _ well, _ nothing, since they died before they could pop off a shot.

A shotgun blast behind Shale’s back was met with two cries of pain as a couple of pirates bit the big one. All their armour-piercing weapons didn’t count for much if they couldn’t get an attack in.

There was no time to waste. Shale booked it up the stairs and opened a slew of laser shots into anything that lurked around the corner. Two tags smelled of burned flesh and success. A third got away behind the back wall. Another shotgun blast took down one for sure. That left six.

The back wall exploded as the laser turret bored through on the far right. Shale hopped to. By now others joined in, backing up his lead. Valius brushed by on the way up and around the last corner, taking shots at whoever he could see.

_ So that’s how it is, eh? _

There was no way that beefcake was taking the glory. Stairs could be damned. Shale hopped the distance up onto the concrete wall and opened fire at anything in sight. Three, then four pirates fell down and stopped moving like broken toy dolls.

Then that was that. Apparently the laser blast did more damage than had been anticipated over on the left. Shale let up as he glanced around with the barrel of his rifle, then eased off.

_ Well, this sucks. _ So that was it. He stood on the wall like a cat on a roof, merely watching while Valius and Karya secured the door to deeper reaches. A metal gate covered the way in. That needed to be cut through.

There was time for frivolity. Shale smirked down at Valius and cocked a brow. ‘Decided to show up, huh?’

Two more agents rushed over, gems at the ready. Valius took a moment to focus his attention on the blue-haired maverick. ‘If you hadn’t jumped off the ship without any support fire, like a maniac, I’d have been right there beside you.’

That elicited a laugh. Shale shook his head. ‘Too slow. I was _ your _ cover fire.’

Valius merely smirked and turned away, back to the newcomer agents. ‘Get that door open. I don’t want to turn around empty-handed.’

That rifle was still kept at the ready. A smirk resumed its rightful place upon Shale’s lips. ‘I want the admiral’s hat.’

Immediately Valius shook his head. ‘Screw that. It’s mine.’

The challenge was on. ‘Oh yeah? Who came up with this plan? Who d’you think’s gonna get there first?’

‘I’ll shoot it off if you get near it,’ Valius remarked.

‘Next round of drinks,’ demanded Shale. Now there was a wager.

‘You’re on.’

An electronic beep announced the opening of the security gate. They were through. Shale lifted his rifle. For one second- _ one age-long moment _\- eyes locked hard. Valius met his gaze.

‘The hat’s gonna be mine.’


	28. Sea Breeze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heading up the rear of a full-on pirate assault seems like the best plan of action, more like a milk and honey run than a real fight, but life is never as merciful as to let something like statistics or careful planning get in the way of an interesting outcome.

Things were much quieter on the ship, as Raza and Bethany hobbled their way down a fragment of sheared metal that had been rapidly fashioned into a makeshift gangplank. It was better than nothing, all in all. Only a few stragglers remained, holding down the fort. What forces had not bolted off into the stronghold now held their position against the barrage of cannon and laser fire assaulting the entrance. This was too much, too soon.

Raza broke the war-tattered silence as they reached what served as a facsimile for terra firma. ‘Is this really all we do? Okay, I’m complaining a lot, but seriously: We need a break. Getting knocked out and left in the hospital doesn’t count.’

Alone together, Bethany relented. ‘Valius doesn’t really care about us because we’re not strong, so I don’t know. He’ll probably run us ragged until he’s ready for a break, and only then.’ The woman sighed.

It was reasonably clear in the immediate area. All the pirates had been killed, as well as some Zericon agents that had failed to learn the secret to deflecting laser swords. Blood now and forever more stained the floors. The fact that the two of them survived this far was no less than a miracle. That too brought questions. Raza sat down in a corner, resting by Bethany. ‘So you’re married.’

She nodded as she sat. ‘Yeah. We really should catch up, Raza.’

‘They won’t miss us. Besides, we’re injured. We’re not going to be any use if we have to be rescued.’

The young woman paused on this. ‘Yeah.’

‘We can watch the entrance from here,’ Raza suggested. It was so much easier right now. ‘So if we survive long enough to somehow make it back to safety, do you want help tracking your husband down?’

Soft blue eyes glazed over. Bethany stilled. ‘I don’t know if he’s still alive. I don’t even know how many years I was in stasis for.’ Like a train at full speed into the station, it hit all at once, hard. ‘I… don’t even know where our children are. I- Deynan could be dead.’ Her head slowly swivelled into a shake. ‘Thanks, but… I’ll find out for myself.’

‘The offer stands, okay? We need to look out for each other.’

‘Yeah’ was her only response to that. A large sigh escaped through her nose as Bethany fixed her sights on nothing in particular. Silence slowly took a new form amidst the gunshots and screaming.

It lasted until Bethany got back to her feet. ‘Come on, we should catch up.’

_ So much for a break. _ Raza let out a cold breath. _ I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to fight. _ Raza reluctantly climbed up and ambled along unsupported. A lovely migraine was now persistent. Nevertheless, he did his due diligence and drew his whip. Into the maze of pirate-themed death he went. This was going to be fun.

As much as it should have been rife with the visceral scent and sight of raw, carnal carnage, it was oddly clean of gore and the following litter of abandoned weaponry. Immediately Raza shot a wary glance at Bethany. Her hammer was already drawn and primed for some skull contact.

‘I’m guessing the pirates fell back and left this section bare so they could set a trap up ahead, or something. There’s no way we cleaned this place out on the doorstop.’ Raza crept along carefully as he spoke. Bethany was no slouch in the caution department either. Something was seriously off here.

‘Yeah, that sounds like what’s happening,’ she replied. There weren’t even scorch marks in the shoddy cement walls from gunfire. Even the antigon volcano base wasn’t exempt in that department. Admittedly, most of the damage was lava in the end, but weapons still played a part. This was clean. There weren’t even scuff prints that looked recent- for what marks would be left on crappy cement. What was waiting up ahead?

The hallway surrendered to the room beyond after twenty paranoid feet, and left a doorway in its wake. Unlike the entrance, this one was not hacked and laser-cut open. It had been left as-is.

Both as one, the two crept into the open doorway and readied their pathetic, beginner-level killing implements. One metal walkway stretched out, back and forth to the left and right, with metal sheet railings to stop the imminent fall into what appeared to be a large water pool shortly below. More railings and wide crossbeams stretched out and arced off across the football stadium-sized room. Shark imagery adorned half the room in banners and emblems, all with a stylised fin and bite mark. _ Of course, _ thought Raza as he gripped the tail of his whip, they had to be shark pirates.

Maybe laser fire was expected. Maybe not. A warning potshot bore into the wall to Raza’s left.

No, this was no surprise. Raza and Bethany dove for immediate cover. Having no long-range weapons definitely put a damper on the whole retaliatory self defence angle. Several holes in the barrier already peeked snippets of the world beyond from whatever happened here beforehand. This was not a permanent cover solution.

‘I count eight of them,’ said Bethany, making herself as small as she could. For a larger figure, she managed more than well enough.

_ How did she-? _ ‘Well I saw five,’ replied Raza bitterly. Where was she looking? As if to point out the obvious, Raza opened his mouth for some moderately informative support. ‘We have no guns!’ What happened!? Where were the others? Did they all die? Were he and Bethany about to get hammered from behind by the naval forces sweeping in?

‘Yeah, Raza, I got that. We’ll need to go around somehow.’ Bethany prepped to move. Irritation marred her voice.

_ Okay, yes, _ he was being a whiny prat, that was totally fine to admit. He was the child of the group. _ Sure, okay. _ That was fair. It didn’t change the fact that they were outnumbered and out-gunned from all angles- _ where were the other three shooters!? _ That kind of affected his movement strategy. The actual chance of getting shot by real bullets and lasers was just too big a possibility to be left to chance.

What happened? Were these pirates that were left behind to hold up the rear? Were they survivors? Were they late to the party because they slept in? Where were the doors in and out? He caught none of it. It was all on Bethany. It was no wonder he looked like such a useless moron in their eyes.

‘Right, I saw nothing,’ Raza finally admitted, in the split second everything passed by through. All of this took maybe seven seconds at the very most, since entering the room. ‘I don’t know what’s on my side or who’s where. I need to rely on you here.’ The sound of silence hung heavy over the air. Swords hung on horsehairs. If the enemies weren’t shooting then they were reloading and waiting. The moment they poked a head up to look it was guaranteed to get blown off. If they moved, they were going to be seen in the gaps between the railing guards. If they retreated, they would be running out in the open, in an open hallway, for several seconds of convenient fire.

Then it got worse. The spotlights doused away as a shape eclipsed the enclosed sky. Emerald greens met fast with what looked roughly like a little crimson hot air balloon. Nine hollow little stalks on the bottom suspiciously resemble gun barrels.

_ No. _ This wasn’t fair. ‘_I hate gems!_’, Raza snarled.

Frustration flew from her sigh like a butterfly. It hit like a hot frying pan. Those sky-blues glared into Raza’s eyes as unspoken accusations levied on his shoulders. He wasn’t a soldier. This wasn’t his life. He wasn’t made for this. ‘Just… _agh,_ just follow me, okay?’ Fists opened and clenched as she gritted her teeth and got down on all fours. Bethany began crawling for safety.

To the right they went. Bethany at least knew what was on that side of the room. More laser fire was accompanied by a row of metal walkways, all branching off into different directions. Thinking fast, Bethany led them up a set of stairs. Higher ground meant harder to hit. _ Of course. Okay. _

They didn’t stop, even as a laser shot slipped through an opening in the metal panels and clean through Raza’s sleeve. Thin slivers of muscle were burned away beneath a hole where skin had been. All he could do was pick his face up off the treaded metal floor and crawl to safety. Neither one stopped until they reached a wall. All the while that stupid gun balloon tagged along, marking their location for all to see. They couldn’t stop.

Another shot clipped his calf. There weren’t enough curses in the world. Blood now left a trail along their determined route for the nearest door. Anything had to do as long as it didn’t have lasers and bullets waiting impatiently on the other side. Bethany smacked the door release with her hammer and crawled through.

Logic was beautiful in all of its strange ways. It made empires rise and fall. It built mankind. It decreed that horseradish coffee was not a good combination. Its lacking here was still equally as welcome, as the two fell head-first into what looked like a staff lounge. _ Because that made sense. _ He would take it. Bethany screamed as she closed the door and smashed the door controls. There was no going back.

Then it got worse. A sigh of relief was cut short in the wake of a pirate rising up from a couch, and a submarine sandwich with what looked like a mountain of processed chicken and sliced pickles.

It never stopped. There was nowhere to hide, it was a wall, a door, and a little table with a potted plant. The pirate had a gun and a couch. There was no choice but to fight. Raza drew a gem at random. The pirate fired. Shadow Dire Kuri leapt into action like a little clawed fridge magnet, targeting the face. Now was the time. Raza drew his whip and targeted the ankles- _ the waist, _ which was actually visible behind the couch. One swipe turned into two, and three. A wild shot of desperate rage clipped the kuri. Another missed Raza and shattered the plant pot. A fourth and fifth slash of the whip brought the man down.

In the aftermath, poor little kuri leapt down and limped over. A burn hole nearly pierced through its chest. This was war. A weak little meow bellowed out as Raza knelt down and called it back to gem form. ‘Rest, little guy. You earned it.’

Now, one full sweep said the room was clear. That was the best they were going to get for… probably three minutes.

Still, it wasn’t over. ‘Raza?’ Bethany called out from by the door. Her hefty frame slumped like a doll against the wall.

‘Yes?’ He limped his way back. _ Like gem cat, like owner. _

A hand moved from her abdomen, revealing a stain of crimson across her suit. Then it pressed back in tight. ‘Do you see any healing gems around here? Or a first aid kit?’

_ It just got better and better. _


	29. Impressment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With nothing to do but wait, Raza and Bethany catch up on all the finer details of Zericon and life.

It only went from bad to worse. What was he doing here? Really though, there was no time to ask that. Bethany had been shot, by real guns, that actually could put holes in their bodies.

‘Sit still, don’t move,’ ordered Raza calmly, or as well as he could manage. ‘Just… keep applying pressure. I- I’ll look around.’ If he screwed this up, Bethany could die. Now the pressure was on.

It really was just a break room. First off though, there was an unconscious pirate to disarm. Raza slipped over to the fallen foe behind the couch and relieved him of his gun and… laser sword. Now this was getting serious. Raza cocked the trigger and levelled it at the pirate’s head. Dry lips contorted into a grimace as he waited. That man would get up at some point. Offing him was the better option.

He was probably an idiot, but there was no way he was taking another life. It had to stop at some point. All he could morally do was take the couch and heap it on top of the enemy while Bethany slowly began to bleed out.

‘Raza,’ said his teammate. ‘I know you want to do the right thing, but I’m dying, here.’ Niceties were only a thin glaze on her voice at this point.

He was wasting time. What could he do? They were stuck. If he left the room, he’d be shot at. There would be at least two of them waiting outside that door with guns and laser weapons, ready to literally cut his head off- not that he could anyway with the panel destroyed.

There had to be something. In the volcano base there was ventilation to crawl through, that was an idea. He looked up.

No it wasn’t.

They had stupid little trespasser-proof heating grates that could maybe fit an arm if he ripped the grate off of it. He would have to find another way. What would he do, though? There were no windows, or doors, left to access. This was a tomb.

More and more, the burn hole in his arm and leg throbbed. The top one had at least sealed itself. The bottom was still- _ ah _. Raza paused.

‘Bethany, I have an idea. It’s a bad one, but it’s all I have.’ Raza brandished the laser pistol. It didn’t have a chamber for bullets, and an ON/OFF switch screamed “energy”, so it was probably pretty capable of cauterising a wound.

Bethany caught on immediately. ‘Just do it, I don’t care about the pain. Just… aim it sideways so you don’t clip too much of my skin, okay?’

The tan-skinned newbie could but nod in agreement. ‘I’ll test it on myself first, so I can make sure it won’t just blow another hole in-’

‘I’m feeling faint, Raza. I’m losing a lot of blood.’ She was. The stain had grown across and down her waist.

‘Okay, you first.’ She won. Raza limped over and knelt down beside the girl. Hopefully there wasn’t too much internal bleeding, or this was all for nought anyway. The barrel was set against the wound, pointed up toward the wall.

The sound of her scream would haunt his dreams.

It was done. Bethany writhed in pain until tears began to blur her baby blue eyes. ‘I’m so sorry,’ murmured the black-haired boy. ‘Are you okay?’

She only grunted and sucked in air for nearly a minute. ‘Giving birth was worse. I’ll live.’

Right now they were pretty stuck. It was better to stick to upbeat subjects. ‘Yeah. So what are your kids’ names?’

‘The oldest is Garret. Garret Deynan Weid. The second is Albary. Same middle and last names.’

Her ally cracked an obligatory smile. ‘How old are they? Or were, when you went into stasis.’ This walked a fine line of maternal joy versus grief.

‘Garret was three when I gave birth to Albary. He was a little troublemaker.’ The young mother actually smirked. ‘I visited him in the child unit all the time between shifts.’

‘Did you get to raise him?’

Disappointment followed a shake of her head. ‘Not entirely. I’m a soldier, Raza. I know the costs. But I did see him all the time. We’d play and talk about stuff. He was getting really good about talking.’

‘So-’

‘I hope he’s okay- both of them, really. I miss them so much.’ The woman still smiled ever so faintly.

It was time to steer this away from melancholy. ‘I’ll help you find them,’ Raza stated. ‘I mean it. I know you probably don’t want me getting in the way of your search for your family because we don’t know how much time has passed, but I’m your friend. I’m going to help you however I can, okay? I don’t want you to be alone.’

The subject turned on its ear like a car crash. Bethany locked eyes on the boy. ‘Raza, look… while we’re talking, I get that you’re new, and you don’t remember how to be a soldier, but you have to start towing the line. What you did back there was unacceptable. I see you trying and I know how frustrated you are, but you have to buck up and stop being a little bitch, okay? I almost got killed for you. Don’t let it happen again.’ There was no tenderness in that tone.

What else could he say? ‘Okay, I-’

‘I gave birth to two children and it broke my heart when I had to give them away. I’ve been shot more times than I can count, and I’m still here. My husband and I knew the risks going into this. We both knew that we could die at any moment, and that’s that. Game over, you don’t get to try again.’ The chubby blonde rested her head back against the metal wall with a hard sigh. She wasn’t looking so steady. ‘I appreciate you offering to help, but this is a family matter. My husband and children are dead. It’s something I have to get over on my own. I don’t want a shoulder to cry on, okay? I just want to do my job until I can grieve in my own time. Please understand that. I don’t want your help on this.’ Finally through the veil of dawning tears, her weak voice softened. ‘I’m sorry. I’m still thankful for the offer.’

That was that. He’d been schooled by his older, more experienced teammate. She was technically right, he’d dropped the ball back there. He screwed up and got her shot. How was he supposed to survive though, if this was literally all he had? He was just guessing his way along until he eventually made it on luck and bluffing or ended up on ice and replaced. It was hard not to sound like a dissenter at this point.

‘I’m sorry,’ Raza said plainly. ‘I’ll try harder to learn.’

Bethany ploughed on. ‘Technically, you’re doing pretty amazing for someone with amnesia, so don’t take it too hard.’ That was a 180 in tone. ‘I’m just angry, and I needed to get that out now. I’m still on your side.’

At this point nodding was the most efficient response if he was likely to just get cut off again. Silence quickly set in at the lack of a true reply. Bethany closed her eyes and sighed.

She broke it first. ‘I’m sorry you don’t remember anything. So you have no memory at all? It seems like you know basic stuff. I don’t know where you draw the line on amnesia.’

That was a good question. It would be nice if he knew. Raza too sat back against the- not the couch, where the pirate could wake up and disarm him. He sat beside Bethany against the wall. ‘It’s… honestly like I don’t have any memories. I have scattered bits of nothing, like I should know something, but there’s nothing there. I kind of remember vague bits of stuff like a couple hallways and maybe a town, but nothing specific, and everything like people are just faceless, like a fleeting dream. Yeah, I know stuff like some of the islands and how to walk and talk. I know bits about economy and science and whatever, but everything I should know about me and my past just doesn’t exist. There’s no real detail at all.’

‘Maybe your mind is blocking it out,’ she replied, quick as a flash. ‘You said you went into stasis because of an injury. Maybe you got brain damage.’

That was a comforting thought. _ Thanks. _ ‘I just made that up so Valius wouldn’t shoot me. You’d said you went in for birth complications, so I put a spin on that and made something up about getting hurt.’

She wasn’t convinced. ‘Maybe you said it for a reason. It could have been in the back of your mind, waiting to come out. It seems really likely that you hit your head and lost your memory. That can actually happen.’

It could, but did it?

‘You said you remember hallways and a building, right? Try looking it up. It might be a structure you went to with your old team or even before you joined Zericon. Do you remember anything else? What people were there?’

‘I don’t remember,’ Raza said yet again. At this point he was beating a dead horse. ‘There was some girl and a couple adults-’

‘A girl?’

The boy shrugged. ‘No faces or physical details at all, just people.’

‘Maybe she was important to you. You should try to remember who she was. That might give you clues to your past.’

At this point her support sounded more like attempts to grasp at straws in a bid to console him. ‘And what about the other formless errata floating in my memory?’ He could say he remembered seeing a giant blue billboard and she would probably say it was important and to go hunt it down.

Maybe she was right, though. It was better than doing nothing and lingering in these feelings of hopelessness. ‘I can try.’

‘You can do it. Just try to remember. Maybe this girl was important to you, or any of the other people you remember. They might be your family, or maybe she was your girlfriend before you joined Zericon.’

If there had been someone, they were likely gone now. Did he have a family, though? Had he at one point had brothers and sisters? He evidently had biological progenitors in the form of a mother and father, unless modern medicine had progressed far enough to allow two women to create a child unassisted by males. That knowledge seemed current. Maybe his parents were women. That was a large stretch to assume from nothing, though.

Memory number one, solid, first, and foremost, was a gun in the face. Valius had stolen away his primary moments of intelligent sentience in order to program him with fear-induced loyalty. That sure as anything wasn’t going to stop haunting him any time soon.

‘I don’t remember being me. I looked at my hands and had to take a moment to realise what colour my skin is. When I got my ID card- you remember- I had to ask you if that was me. I still don’t know. Are my eyes green? I don’t know.-’

‘They are.’

‘I don’t ev- okay.’ There was no point finishing that tirade.

She simply peered into his heart through those eyes. ‘I know this must be confusing for you. I’m sorry.’

The time to discuss it had passed. ‘Let’s hope they find us soon.’ It was now time to tend to his leg. The bleeding had mostly stopped at this point, so effectively shooting himself would probably do more harm than good. ‘How’s your stomach?’, he said to Bethany offhandedly.

‘Bad’ was her reply without a lick of hesitation. ‘I need a hospital.’

It came to him now, after all of this. Realisation was a cruel mistress to delay its sweet embrace until irony had fouled the taste of her kiss. They had helmets, with communicators, didn’t they? There should have been comm links embedded into them. Why weren’t they using them?

‘Can we get in touch with the rest of our team? We have communicators, right?’

The start of a nod was made before the woman winced, still slumped over by the wall. ‘Yeah, but they’re probably still fighting, or dead. We’re not a priority right now. Realistically, we should be finding a way out and killing more pirates right now. If they make it back alive, they’ll patch in and ask for our location. I don’t want to bother them right now if they’re caught up in a firefight.’

Maybe there was some truth there, but they were still in need. ‘You’re injured, you need immediate medical attention.’

‘Like I said, we signed on knowing the risk. Our lives aren’t as important as protecting the islands. If we make it out alive, then that’s good, but if not, that’s life.’ For all to see, Bethany was asleep, just so still. Her weak voice carried on, and her heavy chest rose and fell. How much was left of her?

‘You sound suicidal.’

A grimace dared to touch into the faint flicker of a smirk. ‘Just live while you can. At some point, shit’s going to happen and take everything away from you.’

‘Please don’t die, okay?’ He had to ask.

‘I’m trying not to, Raza.’

‘So you’re just accepting that it might happen?’ Concern bordered on sarcasm as the words passed his dry lips.

There was silence.

‘Bethany?’

‘Change the topic, please. Talk about anything else.’

He would oblige. What a day this was. ‘So can you tell me more about this whole rivalry thing? I really feel like I’m expected to hate these people you keep arguing with, but I don’t. What with that?’

Then she laughed. ‘You’ve got it bad for Surelle.’

Well, that was awkward. ‘I just want to know why we’re against them,’ he defended.

A smile graced her round face. ‘You want in her pants so badly.’

She had the wrong idea. He was just curious. She was cute, fine, and seemed sort of sweet under the surface. She’d helped him too, and she wasn’t as cruel as the others. Maybe there was something there to learn about her, but Bethany was just wrong. It wasn’t lust. Okay, Surelle was hot. She was really pretty and had nice freckles and a cute face. _ Fine. _ Bethany still didn’t need to go jumping to conclusions. Maybe he just wanted to make friends. ‘I just want to get to know her, she seems like a really interesting person.’ A stupid little warble in his voice tried to invalidate his side of the argument.

‘You’re so obvious.’

‘She seems nice,’ lobbied the black-haired boy. ‘That’s all.’

Then came the strained laughter. Bethany winced. ‘Don’t go after her, okay? I know you think she’s nice and sweet, but she’s not interested. You’re from a rival team. She’ll never like you.’

That wasn’t true, she’d been nice to him. He’d made progress. ‘You don’t know that.’

Once more she scoffed. ‘You’re so hopeless, and horny. It’s almost cute, if it wasn’t so dangerous. Our rivals are assigned to us when we form a team. We hate them and they hate us. It’s a morale thing, but it’s also competition. You see, the better rival team that scores more points gets rewarded. They get better rooms, more perks, and access to more privileges. It’s a way to incentivise competition. When you have something nice, someone else wants it, and if they take it away, you want it back. It’s like a game.’

‘That’s cruel and demoralising. What happens if the other team just gives up?’

‘That’s a risk. You want to be on top, Raza. Right now we’re not, and it sucks. I’ve never been on the winning side. My last team was always just a little bit behind our rivals, and it pissed me off so bad.’

‘This just causes infighting.’

Bethany gave her head a shake. ‘Mm-mm. We might each other, but we can’t actually fight or we’ll get reprimanded and lose more of our standing. We just do this back-and-forth dance. See, Valius and Karya were on the winning side before uh… what were their names?’ She glanced over for help.

Raza just shrugged. ‘I don’t even remember. Darby and Elliott or something.’

In all fairness, she probably shouldn’t have chuckled at that, but she did. ‘But they died and our team got penalised for it. Now we’re losing and you can tell it’s driving Valius insane. He wants to win. It’s infectious. You want to be the better team.’

Life was nothing less than merciless in all its infinite faculties. ‘What about the losing team? It sucks for them.’

‘Yup, it sucks for us. You get better rooms, with bigger beds, and furniture, as well as really good perks like transport and free passes to off-work events. Zericon holds some pretty awesome parties and concerts. I went to one once. Bandit In The Fire was playing. It was incredible. Deynan and I danced all night. I think that’s when I got pregnant with Garret, actually.’ Now came even more laughter, no matter the pain.

That sounded interesting. Zericon actually held social activities for its indentured employees? ‘Well, I hope Surelle likes her new living space.’

That earned him a playful smack. ‘Get your head out of her vagina for five minutes!’, she teased.

Now he had to retaliate. ‘I can’t help it, she’s cute.’

A quiet few seconds passed by, just long enough to border on the threshold of awkward. ‘Karya’s cute.’

This was true. ‘But evil.’

Everything was really cracking her up today. ‘She’s not evil. She’s just… _ only slightly evil_.’

‘And dating Valius.’

Bethany shrugged that one off. ‘So? She was checking out your butt.’

Reality had to politely interject here with a polite tap on the shoulder and a clearing of its throat. There was a problem with that reasoning. ‘Yeah, I’m really gonna fight the guy with a gun and wants to kill me, over her.’

‘You might not have to. I think they fight a lot, their relationship might be on the rocks.’

‘And if I make a move, he’ll break my face.’

‘But you’d have her. Fight for what you want.’

Now came true awkwardness. ‘And what if I want to go after Surelle?’

A beleaguered sigh cleaved the merriment in half. ‘Please don’t. You’ll get us all in trouble. I know you like her, but you could get us all killed, and I mean that. If the management thinks we’re going against the code, we could be executed for treason and replaced. Please don’t be selfish.’ She really pleaded this time.

How was this fair? ‘I don’t like this life.’

The teammate carried on, unaffected. ‘There’s hundreds of girls around. There’s clubs and dances, you could meet the girl of your dreams anywhere. Just try, okay? Give life a shot. You haven’t even seen the tip of the iceberg yet. There’s so much more to life in Zericon. They take care of us.’

_ As long as you don’t have children or long-term life plans. _ This was so very messed up. ‘Maybe.’

‘It seems bad now, but wait until you get a real taste of life. You’ll find something you enjoy, I promise.’

That brought a good topic to the foreground. ‘What do you like to do?’, queried Raza. The list of practical things he knew about the people he was probably supposed to call his family and friends was, not surprisingly, shorter than Valius’ patience.

Bethany quietly dwelled on that. ‘Well, I like dancing, music, some sports like tennis and rugby… I’m pretty good at some video games. I like a lot of different stuff.’

‘What kind of music do you listen to?’

‘Country,’ said the woman, with some cheer. What she had to be proud of with that was a mystery.

‘Ah, okay.’

She promptly turned the tables. ‘What about you? Do you remember anything you like?’ A quick pause soon added a secondary comment. ‘I mean aside from boobs.’

He was never going to live that down, was he? ‘I have nothing.’ He didn’t even have boobs.

‘Well, when we get back to base, you can take a look around and see if anything catches your attention.’

‘Yeah,’ he replied, a little defeated. ‘I guess I’ll have to.’

She smiled one more smile. ‘It’s not that bad, Raza. Just try, okay?’

Then of all times in this mess of a day, hope at last broke through like the sun through the storm clouds A voice crackled to life over the comms.

‘Raza, Bethany, where are you? Get over to the boat immediately, we’re done here.’


	30. Down Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mission successful, Raza tries his hand at a bit of social interaction.

When at last that door cracked open, there was no yelling or complaining. Only one familiar face was present as a team of three wandered in and grabbed Bethany. Some black-haired girl and a boy with zebra stripes hoisted her up by the arms.

‘Hey, careful, she’s been shot,’ said Raza irritably as they manhandled his ally. He managed to climb to his own feet. ‘Here, let me-’

‘What, afraid they’ll grope your new girlfriend, Raza?’ It had to be her, of course. Karya smirked triumphantly from the doorway. ‘Looks like you’re not Valius’ favourite after all.’

Raza limped his way over. If that was the way she wanted it, then so be it. ‘No, I think he prefers the one he’s bending over a table.’

The redhead actually laughed. Her pointy nose crinkled. ‘Jealous?’

Both started walking, following Bethany’s escort. ‘What, of him or you?’, retorted Raza.

It didn’t stop. ‘You know,’ mused Karya, ‘for someone so pretty, you’re awfully stupid.’

Raza sighed, shaking his weary, pain-addled head. ‘And I’m sure you’re going to withhold the how and why so you can lord it over my head for another day, am I right?’

‘What are you talking about? You know why you’re stupid. You’re a useless idiot. You can’t even survive against pirates without being rescued.’

He was down for some verbal jousting. ‘Say that to my face next time we get caught up in naval combat. I saw you get dressed down for not doing enough.’

This woman was in prime form. Despite a few burn marks in her uniform and a nasty cut on her arm, she was looking pretty good. ‘Yeah, _ I guess I pulled a Raza_,’ said the woman with a sadistic smile. She was cruel

He needed a new insult, she was too quick with her replies. She was a… no, but Valius would say…_ huh_. This was hard.

The slack was pulled, hard. ‘Aw, what? The baby ran out of comebacks?’ With maniacal glee, she flicked the boy hard in the ear.

Pain at least reloaded his ammunition. ‘Do you have any hobbies aside from verbally pegging me or are you just obsessed with playing S&M with every newbie you get your claws on?’

Karya bit her lip as she smiled, hard. She actually seemed to enjoy this. ‘I’m a predator, Raza. I pick off the weak and chew them up.’ Now she leaned in, uncomfortably close. That pointy nose grazed his ear. ‘If I’m _ hard _ on you, it’s because you’re far from good enough for my standards.’

Her hot breath tickled his cheek. Gravity inverted just a little, daring Raza to move closer. He resisted. ‘Until you get someone like Valius on you, and then you become his timid little servant. I guess you’re only in charge until someone can kick your ass. I see how you like it.’

Her pretty little lips twisted into a sideways smirk. This time Karya, mistress of evil, took a moment to calculate her cutting commentary. As a reply primed to fire back at the boy, hesitant breath cut it short. What was she planning now? A few seconds later she loaded and fired off her mouth. ‘What was that little fantasy you mentioned before? Pegging? I guess with all that testosterone flying around, you’re just dying to cut out the middleman and play bottom for Valius. Do you wanna be the pretty girl, Raza? I have some makeup you can borrow.’

The only reply he had was the only reply he used. ‘No thanks, I’d rather not look trashy in front of the boss.’

That one stung deep. ‘_Oh,_’ muttered Karya breathily, visibly reeling from the petty blow. It was a full-on slap in the face. Again, she had to take a minute to process the damage. A fist tightened at her side, ominously.

It was time to back away a little. One or two steps slightly in the opposite direction- were… not happening. The bloody girl decided to swing her arm around his shoulder and pull him in close.

‘_I can make your life a living hell, new meat. You’ve been here for two days. Don’t push your luck, or I’ll find somewhere fun to shove my stun stick._’ An embracing arm turned into a full-on headlock. Karya just kept walking like this, until a narrow, jagged doorway rammed a piece of shrapnel directly into Raza’s hip. All too quickly he hit the floor, ejected with a forceful push. Her laugh echoed out as she kept walking.

How far was this going? What were the rules? Did she like this or did it get too personal? Was it a good time to apologise? All his instincts said that would be a sign of weakness, but how could he know? Raza climbed to his feet and stumbled forward. ‘You wouldn’t be so abusive if he didn’t treat you this way.’ Then that came out of his mouth.

The world quieted just a little. Stopped in her tracks like a brick wall, a hand reached down to her belt. Her stun baton immediately unfolded in her fingers.

_Oh no. _

He’d taken enough damage. This had to stop. ‘Look-’

The point of her weapon sunk hard into his sternum. ‘You don’t know anything about him,’ hissed the girl through clenched teeth. ‘You don’t know half of what he’s been through. You’ll never be even close to the man he is.’

She liked it hard. She liked it tough. Backing down now was going to get him clubbed in the face. Raza locked eyes and stared her down. ‘Then enlighten me.’ Actually, _ screw it_. She was going to beat him up anyway, it was clear on her face. ‘Instead of just kissing his ass, how about you use those pretty lips to tell me what I’m supposed to know here? Ante up.’ Where she couldn’t see, he braced for impact.

Judgement was forestalled as Karya panted through grit teeth. ‘Valius survived a total party kill. When he was just starting out, he was just like you. He got made fun of and told he’d never make it a day in his life. They told him he’d die. Nobody respected him. His team ran him like a slave, and then they died in action. He was the only one left alive, and you know what? He finished the mission and came back in one piece.’ There came the action sequence of this lecture. The stun baton was pressed against Raza’s neck. A deceptively strong hand grabbed him and hurled the boy against a wall, hard. She had him pinned. Face to face, there was no getting away now. Her knee was primed to hit him where it counted if he moved.

‘He built this team up from nothing when everyone thought Veilguard was going to be disbanded. Nobody believed in him. He fights every day of his life to get stronger and work his way to the top, and I won’t let anything get in the way of his dream. We were there once already before you and Bethany showed up. We were in the top fifty.’ Chocolate eyes burned with fury. ‘I’ll fight every day of my life until I die if it’s what he wants. If he’s brutal, it’s only to toughen you up. It worked for me, and it’ll work for you, unless you wanna die.’ She looked straight through his pupils, deep into the receptors behind. ‘He’s a better man than you know, and I _ won’t _ let you ruin _ his _ team.’

Raza had no reply, he only listened. Karya pushed on. ‘Believe it or not, he has respect for you. You stand up for yourself and you fight for what you believe in, even if you’re a whiny, self-centred asshole about it. If he’s tough on you, it’s only because he wants to see you become even better than you are. Until then, you’re nothing, and nobody has to believe that you’ll live to see tomorrow. If you want to be treated like an equal, then earn it. I had to.’

With a metal rod under his chin it was hard to talk, but her chocolate eyes watched and waited, goading acknowledgement. ‘Okay,’ said Raza. ‘I get it.’

Karya pushed off with considerable force, driving him back into the wall. ‘You’d better.’ Now she started walking. The stun baton was withdrawn.

He wasn’t done, though. ‘Just hear me out.’ Raza cautiously followed along from a distance, ready for another attack, just in case. ‘There’s a difference between training and abuse. Don’t let him hurt you, okay?’

Only for a second did the woman pause, then she kept on walking.

It was a long, slow trip back to the boats, especially with a persistent leg injury. By the time he made it back, the rescue boat had docked as near to the port as it could. Shale had really managed to do a number to the ships blocking it up. If they weren’t all already scuttled from his parking job, they were well on their way, all crooked and waterlogged. The only way in or out was through that mess. They had to climb over to reach an inflatable walkway back to naval salvation.

The place was a mess. Out in the waters, over a dozen ships had been set ablaze or utterly destroyed. Only two were Zericon property. All in all, it seemed like the unprompted genocide had worked out in their favour. There was nary a pirate to be seen.

More or less, anyway. Up on the prow of the backup boat, two figures watched over the evacuation. Valius nodded obligingly while Shale rose his chainsaw to the air triumphantly, letting the music of metal carnage play out for all as he waved a tricorn hat about. Twenty or so Zericon agents all waved and cheered at the display. A few saluted. As for Raza, he began the slow process of bleeding his way back over the mountain of tetanus and onto the floating platform.

Actually, the wound had pretty much stopped bleeding at that point, thankfully. It would probably still need some evaluation and maybe some stitches, who knew, but at least it was stable. Bethany had it much worse. If she’d punctured her intestines, she would be in for a nightmare in surgery. Time would tell.

Like all the others that made it back alive, Raza managed his way onto the ship. One after another, all were waved in by an older man with greying hair. Memory said this was a member of team Gold Omen. That was a good sign, that meant that Dusty Kalrow was probably around here somewhere. A sliver of relief eased the tension at the thought. It was funny, really, how easy it was to root for total strangers. Did Dusty really come back into the battlefield just because of him? It seemed unlikely, but a compliment was a compliment.

Karya and Bethany were nowhere to be seen and Valius looked too busy at the moment to be bothered. Plus, he wasn’t really high on the list of people to talk to at the moment. No immediate options meant that Raza was left to his own devices for a while.

Soon enough the remaining agents were loaded onto the boat and the voyage home began. That was an odd thought: Was it really home? Was Bethany right, did he once have a home out there? It certainly didn’t feel like it. What would he do with his off hours, assuming he had any? Valius could very well just run them right into another mission immediately after this. He might actually die if that happened. There were too many injuries piling up too soon. Hopefully, _ hopefully _ he had some time coming up to get some sleep.

From his pensive state leaning over a railing and staring off into the shark-infested sea, a noise managed to catch Raza’s attention. Shale and Valius had begun roughhousing and throwing play punches. Both exchanged soft blows and danced back and forth like boxers in a ring. At this point Raza could only sigh. How did they have energy left to do anything? And now they were wrestling over the pirate hat.

A ring of onlookers clapped and rooted for their favourite. Among them was a black-haired girl. If memory served right, she’d been on the ship over, and carried Bethany out. Maybe she could bear some light conversation. It was worth a shot.

Two mops of dark hair met when Raza ambled over. ‘Hey,’ he said to the young lady. She continued to root for Shale. Raza tried again. ‘Hi.’

This time she took notice. A pale, pretty face had been dotted with flecks of blood and nicked with scratches. One cut had barely missed her left eye. Her cheeks blended nicely, forming a strong facial frame. The girl turned and looked the stranger over with blue eyes . ‘Hey.’ Nothing in her attitude suggested time or compassion enough to host this discourse.

It was someone to talk to, anyway. ‘Hey, I just wanted to thank you for your help back there.’

It was waved off. ‘Yeah, no worries.’ She turned back to the fight. Her blue-haired champion was currently on the ground, pinned in a headlock. ‘Come on! Get up!’

‘Well, I appreciate it,’ said the young man. ‘My name is Raza Kulan.’

‘Cool,’ she countered apathetically. ‘Have a good day.’ Her eyes were fixed on the action.

_ Yeah, cool. Good to meet you. _ Off he went. It wasn’t like he had expected anything, but some conversation with someone would have been nice. With that, he wandered away and sat down in a quiet corner by the railing.

He was there maybe two minutes before someone came up and sat down beside him. ‘Hi,’ said a girl with curly orange hair.

That face was familiar. She was on Shale’s team. ‘Hi,’ said Raza politely. He then remembered to remove his helmet. The fighting was hopefully over, for now at least.

The woman smiled. Dark skin and orange lips stood out in the best of ways. Dark eyes settled on his. ‘How are you?’

There was no need to stifle his sardonic laugh anymore. ‘Rough, but alive. How are you?’

She gave a nod. ‘Not bad, actually. We got through that with less casualties than I anticipated.’

_ Well, _ that was a grim thought. ‘It gets pretty violent on these missions, huh?’ It wasn’t an observation, nor a question. It was a statement. Raza shifted uncomfortably, getting himself into a less painful position. ‘So,’ he groaned, mid-move, ‘I’m sorry, but I don’t remember your name.’

Her orange lips turned up into a gentle smile at that. ‘It’s okay. My name is Shalette Deisum. You’re Raza, right?’

Now he felt like a jerk. She knew him. ‘It’s nice to meet you. You’re on Shale’s team, I remember that.’

Those curly, orange locks bounced elegantly when she nodded. ‘How are you finding life here?’ Her voice was actually pretty husky and smooth like chocolate. So she was pretty, and nice-sounding. Why was she talking to him, and smiling?

‘It’s… interesting.’ He had to stop playing the “poor me” card if he didn’t want to conveniently end up over the side of the boat, purely by non-confirmable alleged accident. ‘It takes some getting used to.’ That much was true. It was hard to conceive of the mind that could just wake up out of stasis, suit up, grab a weapon, and immediately charge into probable death without hesitation.

‘I just wanted to let you know that you’re doing okay. Just keep going, you’ll find it gets easier. Even if your memory doesn’t come back, you can catch up just fine.’

He could only hope. ‘Thank you,’ Raza said in turn. ‘But uh, how do you know about that?’

Shalette’s head cocked awkwardly to the side, begetting an awkward explanation. ‘Shale mentioned it.’

‘_Ah._’ Thank you, Shale, much appreciated.

It only got worse. ‘It’s actually pretty big talk around here.’ _ Why? _ ‘When someone says the things you say and doesn’t remember how to be an agent, they get a lot of unwanted attention. There’s bets going on for how long you’ll survive before you get expired by a hunter or killed in action.

Already he had made a name for himself, in the worst of ways. He really had to learn to shut up. There was a chance he was now on some Zericon watch list. ‘_This is great. Just… great._’ Sarcasm didn’t equate to the level of bitterness wilting his voice. Raza let his head fall into his palm.

‘Hey,’ insisted Shalette, ‘it’s not all bad. You made it out alive in a mission you were severely outclassed for. You should be proud. If you can survive this, then you’ve got a lot of potential.’ She really was cute, even beautiful. How old was she, maybe twenty-five? Twenty-six? Everyone was older than him.

How horny was he, really? Why was that such an internal priority for him? There was a day and a half of life under his belt and pretty much every girl he looked at was a maybe. Were all men like this? He was going to have to find someone to help him manage these… urges.

Getting back to the subject at hand, Raza nodded to the pretty girl watching his every move. ‘I’ll try. Any advice?’

She had plenty, for better or worse. ‘Yeah. I saw you in battle on the ship. You don’t use gems at all, do you?’

That was true, That was still new to him. ‘I still find it to be a bit confusing. It’s a pain to keep up with and remember when I have people charging me with weapons.’

‘You just need practice is all. What gems do you have?’

Now Raza had to try to remember. ‘Uh, a shadow dire kuri, a… what was it? I have a Healing Leaf gem, and… Mindshock, that was it.’ It was probably best not to mention the Jellymush he’d capture, since it was apparently illegal by Zericon rules. That thing was his ace up his sleeve if crap hit the fan. He also had that weird Antigonid gem, and the mutant… thing. Actually, for a beginner, he had quite a few gems. Admittedly, a couple of them were cryptic and useless, but it was better than nothing, maybe.

Shalette nodded thoughtfully. ‘So you’re more of a direct but strategic fighter, then. Your choices tell a lot about you. If I’d seen your gems, I would have known you’re not much of a caster.’

This was intriguing. ‘How do you fancy that?’

‘You chose a kuri, which isn’t known for mixing well with magic and has a narrow synch rate. You can only combine it with its own kind, so it’s a narrow evolution path to level it up. You don’t use magic or gems, so you really embody that.’

_ Well, _ she’d sussed him out in a matter of seconds. ‘Uh, that’s- yeah. I guess you’re right.’

‘You also chose more strategic gems. Healing Leaf and Mindshock are tactical. You think about the danger around you and prefer to incapacitate your opponent instead of just rush in and start swinging. The fact that you chose a whip also shows that. You’d do well to get some more long-range spells and defensive creatures that can tank damage for you.’

That was probably pretty good advice. At this point, he’d take it. ‘Any other advice?’ It was time to draw this well dry.

‘Yeah,’ she said, nodding along. ‘Body armour is good. When you save up some points, you’ll be able to buy some protection. I definitely recommend it before anything else. You can still do damage with a basic weapon, but try to get yourself torso armour and a full-face helmet with ventilation.’

‘Are there stores for that, or vending machines, or is it all through the armoury?’

Shalette cackled. ‘Wow, you really are green. Yeah, you check in with the armourer. There’s temporary upgrades you can get from vendors, but the good stuff is locked up in the armoury.’

‘Thank you,’ said Raza earnestly. ‘I really appreciate this. Everyone else looks at me like I’m a criminal when I ask about stuff they think I should know.’

Again she laughed. ‘It’s okay, Raza. Just keep learning. Hey, I gotta go, but I’ll see you around. If I’m not busy, feel free to come and ask me anything. We’re all on the same side, after all.’ Shalette stood up

This woman was awesome. ‘Thank you! You get it! We do have to act like a team!’ Raza smiled broadly. What a relief, not everyone was insane.

Shalette offered a playful wink. ‘You’ll be fine.’ Then away she did go, before the long-haired young man could hold her up with any more amateurish enquiries.

Then he was alone. Still, it was a better day now than it had been ten minutes ago.


	31. On Reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back at the base, a near-forgotten group of suddenly-excelling agents are tasked with the chore of adapting to a sudden absence.

Twenty hours in the hospital was a long time. Some damage was harder to reverse than something more trivial, especially with it always so busy. How many countless people were sent to the emergency ward every day for major injuries? This line of work wasn’t for the weak of stomach. The others came and went, getting snacks or going off to train and check in with their personal lives and whatnot. That was fine. Someone had to stay and wait, though. It was only fair. Someone had to care.

Neon green hair swished elegantly from the wind as a woman walked right on into the waiting area without a care in the world. Stylish sunglasses made her into an instant movie star. A flashy red coat callously stole and modified the circus ringmaster style without any shame. Today she wore her striped yellow pants and high heel boots, too. It was fashion day again.

The woman walked in what was very nearly slow motion and pulled a sucker from her mouth before pulling her sunglasses away for effect. Orange eyes like jewels shone in the dim light of the medical facility’s attempts to not blind eye operation patients.

She sat down one seat away. With that high-pitched, nasally voice, she spoke. ‘Hey, thanks for everything. I know how messed up it got out there,’ said Valencia.

Surelle put her book away and uncrossed her legs. ‘No problem.’ They’d helped each other. It was all part of her job to take care of her teammates. Stopping Valencia from accidentally falling off a crumbling cliff face was just what was expected of her.

‘So how is Kit Narco? Any word?’ Valencia leaned forward a little, curious of the reply.

The purple-haired woman nodded. ‘Yes. He’s out of surgery and into recovery. I’m just waiting to see him.’

Valencia rested a hand on Surelle’s leg. ‘I can wait. You go get some rest.’

Amethyst and sapphire hair swayed as Surelle shook her head in reply. ‘I’ll be alright, thanks. Besides, I thought you had a date.’

The high fabric spikes of her shoulders rose and fell as Valencia shrugged. ‘I rescheduled.’

‘How sweet.’ Surelle allowed herself a little smile.

The green-haired girl was quick to shrug it off. ‘It’s fine, they stood me up once, so I can make them wait.’

There was always some excuse. ‘Alright.’

Both women sat there in silence for a little while, letting the world of medical emergencies pass them on by. The words in Surelle’s book called her back to reading. After a bit, Valencia patted her lap, announcing a thought.

‘That new guy in the rival team is weird.’

This wasn’t a topic that was open for discussion. ‘He’s a maladapt. He’ll learn the rules or he’ll die,’ replied Surelle calmly. There was no care in her voice to continue the subject.

A sigh debated this verbal roadblock. ‘It’s weird that he saved Kit Narco. If I didn’t know any better, I’d seriously say he was showing off for you, but…  _ I don’t get it _ .’ Serious eyes pondered serious questions. The rail-thin girl popped her sucker back into her mouth and dug deep into the well of thoughts. ‘I want to hate him, but he seriously acted like he cared about us. I feel bad wanting to hurt him.’

‘Don’t.’

Eventually she had to agree. ‘Yeah,’ sighed Valencia. ‘Larshe wants to kill him, like, actually kill him. I don’t think he will? But he’s seriously talking about it. I mean, I guess Raza’s defective, so he might have it coming, but it’s still uncomfortable.’

Surelle re-read the same line for the fourth time. It was time to put the book away, then. She countered with a sigh as she tucked her hobby back into her carrier bag. ‘If he keeps acting like a defector, the hunters will do him in, so don’t worry about it.’

The questions kept coming. This one hit hard. ‘So why didn’t  _ you _ help when Kit was dying?’

Did she need to answer this? ‘The wound was already too severe for us to deal with.’ That Raza boy had been right, irritating as it was: They were sunk. It was lucky they’d made it back alive at all. He humiliated them all. ‘You realise Veilguard made us look like idiots, right?’

Neither of them could argue that point. ‘That’s why I wonder if he is defective. It was ingenious. He’s either really clever or really stupid.’

_ Both. _ ‘Let’s not think about it.’ That love-struck puppy was going to die soon enough anyway. They always did.

In ironic timing, a nurse showed up and beckoned to the two. ‘Team Black Joker?’

‘Yeah,’ said both girls in unison.

The nurse nodded. Kit Narco suffered a lot of blood loss, especially to his left leg.’

Once more Valencia sat straight up. A worried lip tucked under her pristine white teeth. ‘How bad is it? Did he lose his leg?’ Now her eyes turned grey.

It was confirmed with a nod. Unfortunately, yes. The damage was too severe. Unfortunately, your team doesn’t rank high enough for limb cloning, so he’ll be fitted with a prosthetic when he’s ready.’

‘Oh… no.’ Green nails nearly cut Valencia’s lip when she brought her hand to her mouth. ‘Can we see him?’

Another nod suggested to the affirmative. ‘He’s just coming out of sedation now. He’ll be a bit out of it, but he’ll be able to talk.’

Valencia was already vertical and ready to go. ‘Okay.’

Her teammate wasn’t far behind. Surelle tailed along at the rear of the trio, through hallways and down winding corridors marked with far too many arrows. It led where they needed to go, though, so it all worked out. In a quiet room with many curtains drawn over semi-private beds, the nurse led them along to a bed in the corner, where a young grey-skinned boy sat up, eyes open- and mouth running.

He smirked as the nurse returned. ‘Hey, sweet thing. Couldn’t stay away, huh? There’s room in this bed for two.’ The fourteen year-old’s groggy voice croaked with medicated bliss from the white sheets. His antlers had been propped up so as not to bang on the headboard.

Both the girls pulled up chairs and sat down, giving the medical worker enough of an opportunity to slink away, rolling her eyes. Valencia spoke first. ‘How are you feeling?’

It took him a few seconds to notice anyone was there. ‘Oh, hey. My harem approaches.’ Kit Narco brandished a drunken smile, those steely eyes gleaming. ‘You know what would make an awesome birthday gift?’

It had begun. He was already back to his old self, for better or worse. ‘How’s the leg?’, asked Surelle wearily.

The medicated little snot took notice of her presence. ‘There’s my girlfriend.’

‘No I’m not.’

‘I survived a warzone for you. I deserve a kiss,’ insisted the teen.

‘How about a smack upside the head?’, interjected Valencia. ‘Honestly, we should have let you die. You’re so annoying.’

‘But you’re in love with me anyway.’ Kit Narco just kept smiling.

The groan of raw disgust from Valencia could be heard throughout the room. ‘You’re lucky we saved you. You owe us.’

‘I’ll pay in sexual favours,’ said the boy.

Valencia nudged her upright comrade in the arm. ‘I’ll keep watch if you hold the pillow over his face.’

A dry, soundless laugh was made without a smile. ‘Deal,’ said Surelle. Both of them sat there, not putting the brat out of his mercy.

Both the girls shared a glance. That was enough visiting for now, the kid could do with some more time on his own. Surelle made the first motion to depart, just getting up pushing her chair back. ‘We’ll check in later. Patch me or Valencia in the comms if you need anything.’ He was still too drugged up to remember her saying that, thankfully. With any luck, he wouldn’t clue in at all that they’d confiscated and recycled his gear until he was released.

Now was their chance. The duo scuttled away before he could blather on anymore. Out in the hallway, they were free to talk again as they made their way back toward the main base.

‘He’ll need weeks of physio,’ mused Valencia.

That was an understatement.‘Veilguard is going to overtake us again. They screwed us.’ She hadn’t even had one night in her deluxe quarters yet, and already the threat of its imminent departure loomed over her head.

Now Valencia clued in. ‘Oh no, you’re right! We would have been better off if we let Kit Narco die! I mean, I don’t know if I could, but…’

‘It’s the Zericon way. We’re all replaceable, Valencia,’ said Surelle resignedly. ‘It’s cruel to say, but he’s still a replacement. He’s new, with a minimal point loss if he gets killed in action. If we’d let him bleed out, we’d still be in the lead against Veilguard and have a better shot at keeping it that way.’

The thought lingered in her pink eyes. ‘I mean, I know he’s a creepy little puke, but I don’t think I could just let him die.’ Valencia bit her lip. ‘I’m not saying the new guy is right-’

‘So don’t.’

Valencia shut up, at least for a while. When the two finally left the hospital, they parted ways. That was that until tonight. At last alone again, Surelle wandered back out into the open courtyard. There were enough people around to disappear into the crowd and not be noticed for a while.

They’d been ruined, again. Larshe was going to go on the warpath over this. How much of that was really planned and how much was that idiot new boy breaking protocol? He couldn’t have been that stupid, it had to be an act. Valius would have planned this out from the beginning, no doubt.

Now they were a team member down for an extended period of time with no way to catch up. This was a nightmare. That boy literally made fools out of all of them. Veilguard was probably out there right now, laughing and celebrating.

Maybe he was a maladapt, too. He took some serious risks just to try and help them out, and to get close to her- all the signs of a reckless fool. The boy had no understanding of what it meant to be her enemy. He would die soon living like that, it wasn’t worth bothering to care.

He was just another rival.


	32. Keeping Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> En route to exploring the infinite mysteries of Zericon, Raza gets waylaid by ripe tomato.

Overlooking all of the calamitous undertakings of the past rotational cycle of the sun and its associated terrestrial antics, today had only been moderately traumatic, all in all. It could have been worse, only a few dozen had died in front of him. Many of the possible outcomes that could have played the lottery with time and happenstance presented a lot of worse eventualities.

They’d skipped the long voyage on land and headed the long route directly back to the local base on the south side of the island. Where the outside world was concerned, it was all but on its own. The little toy soldiers went back to their box, to wait for time to play another day.

All that ancient and tropical greenery hadn’t gone anywhere in the hours he’d been away. The same giant insects and weird birds with membrane wings still maintained their same bizarre forms. It was hard to see over the massive walls sealing them in from the rest of the world, but it was there in hints. More than anything, it stood in stark contrast to the stone courtyard and massive, domed building bearing down on them.

Stepping off the boat and back onto Past Island came a little easier this time. That dragging weight didn’t sit so hard deep inside his chest this time. Not so many managed to walk down the metal bridge to shore. How many of these people would be in wheelchairs for extended or indefinite periods of time?

Maybe Valius was right to shrug it off. He strode right on by with Karya on his arm, unphased by it all. Actually, he seemed in good spirits. The two chatted casually about this and that while Karya laughed at his little comments and witticisms.

Her pointy nose pressed up against his cheek, locking her fingers around his as they walked. ‘_We should go out sometime, just the two of us._’ It was just loud enough to overhear.

The man actually smirked. ‘Yeah, we can have a day off.’ Gently as a caress, he rubbed her arm with his free hand. Just like that, they were back on good terms- for now.

‘I saw a little bistro on the third floor back at the local headquarters, here. We can check it out if you want.’ They soon wandered out of earshot, and that was that.

He was once more left to his own devices in this semi-urban maze of militant chaos, adrift without a compass. It would have been easier if it were only a figurative sea of people. Mazes had dead ends, and it was far too easy to walk blind into one and never see it coming. Maybe it was time to start feeling his way around.

The base was a good place to start. He wasn’t going to find the answers out in the wilderness, and with Bethany off to surgery, there was nobody to hold his hand through this.

Really, that Shalette girl was right: He needed to learn up on gems. It didn’t help that he had only some starters that did nothing for him against such high-tier foes, but strategy existed for a reason. There were those vending machines, where he could get more gems. She’d also mentioned something about synchronicity. That was one of the stats the machine displayed when he was picking his kuri.

He also had… no credits. Wait, he had actually had some. How many exactly had slipped his mind, what with nearly having become a laser pirate’s newest taxidermy project a little earlier today. There were a few left over from the last mission, when he’d been given some gems and gloves to drop in the metal mailbox scanner. How many had he been given, twenty-five points? It was something like that. Then he bought lunch and was broke. That was right. He probably had around eight credits left, and already he knew that would buy him nothing.

It seemed like today was a limp-to-the-hospital-then-go-shopping kind of day. His ribs still felt broken.

This was day bloody two of existing, and this was what he got. What a day. There was no room for trauma anymore, just searful survival. He needed medical attention. That definitely came first, then gem lessons.

Now was not the time to remember that he only got credit for trading gems and confiscated gloves, which he’d conveniently forgotten to acquire along the way. He only had that antigonid and the mutant thing, which probably wouldn’t net him any points anyway. Though he did remember Valius saying that this mission would net them twenty-five credits each. That was what he said, wasn’t it? It was worth checking- later.

Later would be much later, apparently. It had to happen, timing was that nefarious a planner that coincidence was slave to its puppetry. It was a coincidence that Raza headed to the hospital. It was a coincidence that she just so happened to be milling about outside at this point in time, checking her makeup in a little pocket mirror. It was Surelle. That purple and blue hair stood out for miles, even amidst the neapolitan melange of variable features crowding the stronghold plaza like a busy Sunday market.

She was back in her casual clothes, all dressed up in a black corset, with purple trim and some ribbon, with just a bit of sexy lace. Black jeans hugged her tight thighs all the way down to black, high-heel boots with a dozen buckles and straps. A little black purse with cat ears and whisker trim caught his attention, hanging off her shoulder and she re-applied her black lipstick. She liked cats.

What a high school tragedy this was. She was too cute-_ no, _ she was beautiful. This creature was gorgeous. It was so hard to look away, and she rocked her style like a celebrity. Here he was, standing here in his burned and cut-up, knuckle-dragging peon uniform like a random doofus. His hair was probably well-singed and a mess. Passers-by would likely now notice the random dark-skinned guy desperately playing comb-fingers with his hair in public. When it felt half-decent, as that was as far as it was going to get, he took a chance and walked over.

It was better than doing nothing. Those magnificent purple eyes locked onto him halfway through his approach. Suddenly the pocket mirror was snapped shut and hastily tucked away. Her pretty face desperately glanced away down and to the side, off of him.

Onward he went, regardless. ‘Hi.’ Raza managed a polite smile-grimace.

Surelle sucked in a quiet breath. Nothing was said. At least she made reluctant eye contact.

Unease poured in through the linked gaze, from her and into him. Maybe this was a bad idea. He still needed to clear the air. ‘Hey, um… I’m sorry- about the other day. My teammates told me that I messed up by helping you. I didn’t mean to offend you, or screw you over, I promise. I really was just trying to help-’

A twitch of her lips almost betrayed some words. Raza was unable to stop. The verbal dam had been broken.

‘I can’t stand to see people get hurt, and I guess by doing that I… I… screwed you over and possibly put your team out of commission- not that I’m accusing you of being inferior at all.’ _ Shut up. Change the subject. Both hands on the wheel. _ ‘So I just wanted to let you know. Maybe I’m an idiot, but I mean no harm. I know we’re expected to have this whole big rivalry thing and hate each other, but I don’t. I don’t hate you.’ At last he began to run out of steam.

Surelle just waited and watched, almost goading more. Did she want him to keep talking? Was she expecting something specific? Did he not apologise enough or was she just assessing how much of an inconvenience he was? She was too quiet. Maybe he had talked too much.

Surelle sighed a weary sigh and straightened up. Whatever she was about to say, it took her a few seconds to initiate. ‘It’s best if we just avoid each other, okay?’

_ Ouch. Cool. _ ‘Well, okay. If that’s what you want, then alright. I’ll respect your privacy. I just find you really cool, and really interesting, and I feel like out of everyone, you actually seem to subtly sort of care, beneath it all. Maybe I’m wrong, but it’s what I’m getting from you. You don’t yell at me like the others.’ Raza the stooge managed to interrupt himself with a nervous chuckle. ‘Even my own team.’

It was so incredibly hard to tell if it was pity or remorse painted across her face. ‘The longer you’re in Zericon, the less you’ll feel. You’ll learn to hate me. It’s easier this way.’

‘I don’t think I can,’ admitted the boy with due earnesty, rocking back and forth nervously, foot to foot.

‘I have to go,’ said Surelle, in her quiet voice. ‘We can’t be seen talking together like this.’

She was leaving? This sucked. There was so much more to say. ‘Hey, uh, so… thank you for being respectful to me, and nice. I really appreciate it, and that’s not sarcasm. Look, if I can do anything for you or your team- without selling out my own team, just let me know, okay? I owe you for messing things up- and I mean it.’

This round brought a painful, silent groan from the girl. ‘Don’t be too soft and sweet, Raza. It will get you killed.’ The intriguing creature began to pull the spotlight away with her as she turned to leave.

_ One more thing. Just one. _ ‘Before you go… you look really nice. I hope you have a good day.’ Raza tapped his hip bone with his knuckles.

Surelle’s legs stopped. Her back was all he had left to see, but she paused, maybe for a whole five seconds. Then she carried on and away, into visual obscurity. She was gone.

It was guaranteed he’d screwed it up. What was all that nervous jabbering and fast-forward talking? He sounded like a moron. It probably would have gone better if he’d stayed still and not fidgeted constantly. Did any of that even sit with her at all, or was he just a jerk that harassed her and looked desperate?

He’d absolutely messed up. She’d see him every day and think of ways to avoid him now. This was a waste of time. It would have been so much better to give her space, maybe. That whole misunderstanding seriously needed to be cleared up, though. If she was going to hate him, she might as well hate the real him.

Or maybe something in there landed with its boots on the ground. She didn’t tell him to get lost. She’d even called him sweet. Maybe she was just protecting herself. Maybe she liked sweet. A little twinkle of hope duelled to the death with material dread. Nobody knew which one would win.

Now wasn’t the time. His body was busy turning itself inside out. Stress and muscle tension had only aggravated the rest of his physical torture. The hospital waited. Raza meandered up alongside the other twelve dozen people seeking medical attention. He was instantly forced into a lineup and made to wait his turn. Slowly he worked his way indoors, through the automatic doors and into a room maybe ten feet by ten feet. A coffee machine sat to one side, untouched for the moment. After a few minutes, he graduated past another set of automatic doors and into the emergency ward. He and the others waited in a line beside a desk walled off with plexiglass. Up next was the actual waiting room.

After fifteen minutes or so, an older, blonde nurse with her hair in a bun wandered over with a clipboard. One by one, she questioned the gaggle of visitors, sorting them into either the lineup or the “booth”, whatever that was. Booth-goers were sent off down a hallway to the right past the waiting room, without delay. Judging by their complaints, the booth was for minor injuries at worst. Did he qualify for that, or did internal injuries merit a full inspection?

After sending the woman ahead to the booth a stab wound to the stomach, the nurse sized up Raza. ‘What are you here for?’, croaked the nurse, without any hint of a smile. Her eyes had better, more engaging things to look at. That was fine.

‘Possible broken or cracked ribs, minor head injuries, bullet wound on my leg-’

That caught her attention enough to take an interest. Her eyes looked at his lower limbs. ‘You can walk. Booth.’ Before he could say anything, she had already wandered off to the next person in line.

She was potentially not so helpful. Walking back here had been a struggle. Breathing and bending hurt like being punched in the lungs with a sandpaper boxing glove. Nonetheless, it was off to the booth. Raza followed the last one to go. She couldn’t have been too far ahead. The sight of her dark hair rounding another corner at the end of a hallway offered some vague sense of direction. He wandered past rows of mysterious and broadly unmarked doors, past curtained-off beds that sprouted from the walls like magic, holding overloaded patients.

The next hallway was a large lobby, of sorts, all as white as everything else to be seen. This time, white boxes like telephone booths, or outhouses. These were presumably it. He stood and waited until someone else from triage stepped out of one of the boxes, and took their place.

It was a box. Inside was a grey-walled contraption. Metal panels held cut-out patterns where mechanical arms presumably revealed themselves, judging by the lines. A screen on the inside of the door changed from a generic Zericon logo on a white background as he shut himself in. Now it was a blue screen with a set of options and a large “WELCOME. PLEASE SCAN ID.” in white.

Did they mean his card or his arm? Raza rolled up his sleeve and brought his forearm to a little barcode scanner beneath the screen. It beeped and displayed his vital information.

**Raza Kulan, Z-109919**

**Credits: 11**

Red touch buttons at the bottom of the screen offered three choices:

**Basic Healing - Free (One use per day)**

**Moderate Healing - 50 Credits**

**Full Healing - 100 Credits**

Since Raza was broke as a pauper’s dog, it was probably going to be a basic healing. Evidently health care had negotiable prices. The machine beeped at the touch of his finger to the selected option. Not a minute later, his economy-class medical treatment was under way. Mechanical arms unfolded from the walls and lit up with suspicious blue lights. Now the screen on the door changed to “HEALING IN PROGRESS. PLEASE REMAIN STILL.” Raza did as told.

The gnarled, bloody scab on his leg felt a bit less horrible and the agony in his chest softened to a numb pain. That was it, that was all he got. Thirty seconds later, he was out and limping a little less. The pain was bearable. Now it was time to find out how to live.


	33. Homework

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It can be hard to make new friends, as Raza soon finds out.

Now came the time for some serious shame-induced learning headaches. There was a lot to catch up on that had only been mildly hinted at. Raza wandered on into the main headquarters of the island and took a look around. It was pretty much the same layout as it was on Manifest Island, so that was simple. The armoury was to the left, the stasis chambers were to the right, and everything else was a complete mystery. It was certainly comfortable, oh yes.

The first thing to do was probably to hang around the gem vending machine like a loser until he could spy on someone and leech some information over their shoulder. It seemed like a solid plan. That was how people learned how to dance on the fly, wasn’t it? Sometimes observation was the best course of action.

The good old, dependable gem dispensers he had come to vaguely recognise and not yet admire for any reason sat right by the door, next to machines for doling out quick, pre-packaged food, medical supplies, extra armour, new gear, and ammunition. It was funny that Valius never needed to reload, yet ammunition was supplied. His fun little toy must have cost him a fortune in credits.

This gem machine had different options than the one on Manifest Island. Instead of a cat or a dog, it offered a rat and a baby dinosaur, both mangy and evil in demeanour. That brought up another good point. He’d captured a wild Jellymush, but it wasn’t classified as “dire”. Was this a specialist option selective to Zericon, or was it just a stronger variant they preferred to offer? All the gem creatures available were Dire. Purely on a whim, it was probable that dire gem creatures were stronger where they were strong and weaker where they were weak. It was all or nothing.

There was some conflicting information to sort through, too. Valius and Karya said that gems not supplied by Zericon were illegal, but they held no reservations about seizing a trove of them for their own profit. Bethany was more to be trusted, and she said it was fine, and that was how agents got their new gems. Was this just a rule that nobody followed? If Bethany was willing to go along with it, then it couldn’t be something too well-enforced.

As for “synchronicity”, that was still a mystery. The vending machine offered no resolution, merely sitting there, being a vending machine. Dusty Kalrow also mentioned a panel by the front door, used for calling his team. Maybe it had some sort of information to yield as well, like an interactive help desk.

Anything was worth a shot. There was indeed a panel where one was described to be, with a display screen covered in smudged fingerprints. It was a touch screen. The same blank Zericon logo lit it up, like in the medical booth. He gave it a tap. It too requested his ID number. Everything wanted to know who he was and what he was doing.

The screen lit up with a beep and showed a menu. “Hello, Raza Kulan. How may I help you?” Options followed below:

**World Map**

**Directions**

**Recommendations**

**Book An Appointment**

**Make A Call/Send A Digital Mail**

**Page Team**

**Team/Personal Rankings**

**Zericon Rosters**

**Replace A Lost Teammate**

**Emergency Alert**

**Help**

It was worrying that the replacement of fallen allies was a front-and-centre option. As tempting as it was to dive into the undoubtedly fascinating world of recommendations and possibly have it deduce his favourite eateries or leisure activities, the Help button was the prime selection on this occasion. More categories soon came to bear.

**Replacing Lost Equipment**

**Credits Dispute**

**Workplace Harassment**

**Purchases**

**Report A Theft**

**Learning Basics**

There it was. There had to be a place for people that forgot or needed a refresher, and even in Zericon’s anarchic social structure, there had to be some people that were just not up to snuff. Raza tapped the last button and then sighed. It was endless.

**Gems - Summoning**

**Gems - Spells**

**Elements**

**Combat**

**Points**

**Weaponry**

**Armour**

**History**

**Zericon Protocols**

Hopefully all of this research wouldn’t get him red-flagged. It was evidently going to be recorded in his personal search history.

After twenty minutes he’d gotten the gist of things. Collect gems, trade gems for points, get gems approved by Zericon. It was stupid, but there were loopholes. A Zericon agent could use non-approved gems in combat in cases of emergencies. Dire gem creatures were in fact a signature of Zericon, custom-engineered only for company use. He was right, they were buffed up, reckless versions of normal gem creatures. Unfortunately, not all gems could be converted into dire form. There was a limited selection to work with, and a Jellymush wasn’t on the list.

On top of that, it seemed that he was only allowed ten gems before his glove locked out all others. If he wanted to reset that or extend the limit, it would cost a fortune. A reset was five hundred credits and a one-gem extension was a thousand credits a piece. Nothing was so simple.

As for upgrading his gems so they weren’t as weak, that was where synchronicity came to bat. In order to bypass the natural capacity of a gem, it needed to be merged with another gem of a complimentary kind. That would mean mutating it into a different thing, though. If he upgraded his kuri, he would lose it. Something else would take its place. That felt wrong. Maybe he could upgrade his spell gems, or strengthen his Jellymush, but those were different.

As for the rest, it was all pretty basic. Zericon was exactly as it seemed. People fought their way up the ranks and served until they died. There was a tournament to dread at the end of the year that gauged all of the teams in combat. Getting beaten up by superior agents, that sounded… fun.

What was next on the agenda? His stomach lobbied for priority, but credits were on the short supply. Sleep was also a nice thought. Bethany could also use a visitor, probably.

It was no good, food won out. There had to be something cheap he could buy with eleven credits. If the help command was right, he should have some credits coming from the raid, but that would rely on Valius confirming the paperwork. Last time Raza checked, the man was out on a date. Food and water was screaming at him now. The thought had unleashed the need.

Actually, the help console could be of further use. Raza pulled up a list of recommendations and searched for cheap food. An array of opportunities came up immediately. Most were just vending machine crap or a poor man’s alternative to real food. It was mostly down to candy or bread and a bottle of water. Water was five credits for a half a litre. A miniature loaf of bread was six. That was all of his money. So be it.

The throng of unruly rabble awaited to consume his identity. The main building’s dull stadium roar of hundreds of people all talking and milling about. It was hard to get past all the administrative desks without bumping into someone. After maybe five minutes of apologising and accidentally exchanging shoulder checks, Raza carved a path toward the back of the dome, where elevators awaited to bring him to the higher reaches.

The few solid memories and scraps of consistent knowledge left to Raza said that the over-abundance of unnecessarily close and warm bodies all packed into an enclosed space was just about the norm for elevators. He literally had no choice for what floor it went to, since someone in there wanted to stop at each of the floors.

Some girl with orange and brown hair was wearing too much perfume.

The factor of twelve people in a three-person elevator had already made his mind up for him. Raza stepped out on the second floor. It was busy here today. All the agents coming back from missions or preparing for the massive pirate war had all decided to swarm the headquarters, buying up supplies like the end of the world was nigh. All he could do was lean on a railing and wait for some privacy.

With everyone out on naval duty, was anyone even left to patrol the island? It was probably easier, seeing as it was guaranteed earnings, versus unreliable patrol, with no promise of a steady source of income.

What did people do when they ran out of options? Would Zericon agents resort to robbery or attacking civilians to confiscate their gems? It seemed likely. He was already pretty near to the line of destitution.

The crowd finally cleared after a few minutes, allowing Raza to carry on along his merry way, through the somewhat narrow walkways. Rows of steel-walled shops took up a lot of walking space. There was, somewhere on this floor, a little closet shop selling lowest-of-the-low budget goods. It was time to live like a university student and buy all his survival needs from the local dollar store. Maybe later he could buy a year’s worth of instant noodles and eat them raw on the way to work every morning, or fill up with ketchup on crackers for zest.

There it was. It held no shame. A lifting counter with a digital screen built into the top allowed access in and out of the one-man space, where a disillusioned man with a folding chair and a magazine waited for the meaning of life to drop out of the sky and crush him. An electronic screen behind his head showed a list of goods to purchase. Bread and water were the only things that existed anymore. Anything else was a meaningless blur of future dreams yet to be realised. Raza doled out the last of his credits and watched while the man punched the combination into the machine to his side. His goods were 3D-printed into life and handed over.

**P-287427** had been inscribed in bold black numbers on the vendor’s arm. That was another letter variation. Not everyone had a Z, then. There was ever and always something to learn.

Now all that was left was to scuttle off to a food court to enjoy his things. Raza parked it nice and promptly in a little two-person table for one by the railing overlooking the domed world, and unwrapped his bread.

Six credits didn’t pay for taste. This was just a dull, lifeless, soft brick of nothing. That was nice, in a way that would benefit those tired of annoying and tasty flavours. The water was at least watery. It didn’t taste like lead or dish soap.

He even had a view. There were plenty of things to watch. For instance, there appeared to be a plentiful multitude of different races. Not every Cadian looked the same by any stretch of the imagination. There were a few girls with rainbow hair out there in the crowd, just like that Oun girl on Shale’s team. A few had crimson hair like Karya, or facial markings like Bethany and Surelle. One or two even seemed to match Raza’s own physical attributes, more or less.

What had Valius called him, a sandwalker? The few others all seemed to have black hair, shapely faces, and colourful eyes like him. A few were a little darker though, with more arching, aquiline noses. If his people had been born in the desert, it would explain the darker skin. Sunlight had less damaging effects on bodies with more melatonin in the skin.

Maybe he was a half-breed. The face on his card was tan, but not very much so. The face was also a bit more androgenous and shapely than other “sandwalkers”. Most of them seemed to have sharp, but features and narrow chins, with powerful cheekbones. His nose also didn’t have a kink in it like most of theirs seemed to. He definitely had to be a crossbreed of some sort.

Did he have parents out there somewhere? If so, were they already dead? Would he have siblings? Maybe there was a brother or a sister out there somewhere. Maybe he was an uncle. Who was to say he wasn’t just a clone or a test tube child born to Zericon, born from gene splicing? It would explain why they seemed to have an unlimited army of disposable agents to throw into the field.

It had to be said, the bread really was hard to choke down. It was just a brick of baked flour. Every bite sat in his mouth, getting chewed until it was a sticky paste. Swallowing was a battle every time.

A distraction was welcome when one was seen sidling up suspiciously from across the food court. A trio of girls left their table and wove through the mass of others. All as one unified force, they descended upon his lonely little table like a flock of vampires.

The first to speak was the tallest one. She had to be nearly 5’11”. Tan skin and long, dark hair like Raza’s had all the makings of a racial kinship. ‘Hi, are you Raza?’, said the young woman. Golden-yellow eyes watched him like gleeful fascination.

This boded well. ‘Uh, who’s asking?’ Raza chuckled nervously. How did they know his name? The only time he’d been public outside of the pirate ship incident was when he was being dressed down for doing something stupid.

‘Do you wanna sit with us?’, asked the tall one. A giddy smile failed so hard to hold back a giggle that it earned an F-. She stood there in her black-and purple striped sweater, holding herself as she waited for a reply.

This was just a little suspicious. ‘Uh, I don’t want to get in your way, it seems like you already have plans.’ For what, he did not know, but it was as good a cop-out as he could come up within two seconds of confused throat noises. At least this way he could force them to back out or divulge more information.

‘We’re not busy. We want you to sit with us,’ said the “sandwalker”. Even in his wordless thoughts, the idea of that term had quotation marks around it.

‘Why?’, asked Raza, not so much playing as living in ignorance. ‘You don’t even know me.’

Her adherence to the conversation suggested otherwise. She seemed pretty certain of who she was talking to.

Tall girl shied away, deciding now to hide behind the others for support. Well…’

The second girl stepped in. This one had short strawberry blonde hair, a round face, deep blue eyes, and a button nose that stood out the most on fair, peachy skin. Sun and moon earrings dangled when she talked. ‘You’re new here,’ said the second female. A hint of ambiguous teasing painted her friendly tone a shade of grey. ‘You have amnesia, right?’ This girl wore a matching black and red sweater.

Why did they want to know? Now seemed like a stellar opportunity to practice that thing he liked to call shutting up. ‘I’m new, I’m learning,’ he said as matter-of-factly as possible.

The third cut in, giggling. A scrawny neck and thin, bony shoulders bucked while she convulsed with mirth. Through just biting her lip to hold back the chuckles, it was clear she needed to brush her teeth. A pale, pockmarked face full of acne was half-covered in long, dark green hair so close to midnight that it might as well have been black. Light green eyes watched Raza with unblinking, hungry fixation. Something was very off here. Plus she had a matching black and green sweater. There was a theme. That theme involved colour-coordinated skirts, black jeans, and big goth boots.

‘We really want you to sit with us,’ said the pale one in a breathy voice. Really though, her hair was all unwashed grease. It hung so limp and thready, with an unnaturally sweaty sheen. She just kept staring, more than the others- not that they stopped. At least they giggled and fidgeted. This one just sized him up.

It was about now when Raza began to notice amused stares from the surrounding patrons. Couples and passing strangers snickered and pointed. One girl took notice and outright laughed. Something here was very, very wrong.

How could he say no without offending them? Surelle was right, he was too nice. Nothing was coming to mind…

The strawberry-blonde took the lead. ‘Is that your lunch?’ She pointed to the bread with a dainty hand.

He wasn’t given a chance to reply. ‘I’ve eaten there when I was desperate. It’s disgusting,’ said the tall, tan one. Her hands rested on her hips saucily. A troubled lip almost seemed compassionate.

‘Let us buy you lunch,’ said the strawberry-blonde. None of them had names, apparently. That had to change.

Raza sat upright. ‘You- you seem to know me, but I don’t know who you are.’ _ Just say no. Say you have to go meet your team. _

The tall one jumped back in. ‘I’m Asparagus.’ She pointed to the blonde-ish one next. ‘This is Melty.’ Then came the… other one. ‘And this is Turpentine.’

Those were not their real names. ‘Nice to meet you,’ said the young man, driven purely by obligation. It was probably better to make friends now than risk offending them. Raza extended a hand to shake.

All three snickered and exchanged a glance at each other. ‘Wow,’ said the tallest- Asparagus. ‘You’re really… different.’

This had to be challenged. ‘How different is it to have manners?’ He laughed this off just a little. Why was he still here? ‘I should go check in my teammate. She’s in surgery-’

The collective trio reflexively panicked. ‘No!’, squawked Melty, and grabbed his hand. What a name. She signalled to Asparagus. ‘Go buy him lunch! Raza, what do you like to eat?’

_ Crow. _ ‘I don’t really know, but I can’t sponge off you, it feels wrong. Plus, I think it breaks-’

‘It’s fine! I promise!’ Melty gently tugged on his arm. ‘Please come sit down. Asparagus, can you get him some apple juice and pumpkin soup or something?’

‘Yeah, sure.’ Off the tall one went.

Now he was sunk. ‘I really feel bad-’

Turpentine hissed out a sweet nothing softly in his ear. ‘_We like helping people. It makes us happy. Help us make you happy._’ Eye contact was forced through that unwashed veil.

This was it. He was going to get rolled for his gems or violently gangbanged. Either way, he would probably end up being found in a washroom four hours from now. He was the new guy and it showed for a mile. These girls smelled like hustlers. Even he wasn’t that clueless.

‘I really should go. I need to find Bethany.’

The scrawny, pimply one leaned closer while they walked him to their table. ‘I hear you set a trap and sank two pirate ships and killed fourty enemy hostiles in twenty minutes.’ Turpentine really liked breathing out a little too much while she talked. The sound was almost serpentine.

Who are these women? At this point, morbid curiosity was beginning to gain a percentage of control. They would probably drug his soup or juice. He’d be robbed, or… assaulted. Somehow, the thought of sex didn’t sound so appealing when he didn’t have the faculties to stop them.

‘I don’t feel safe.’ Out it came.

Melty awkwardly toyed with her hair. ‘Oh, no! We’re not dangerous!’

Turpentine just cracked a brought smile and giggled. That was drugs. There was no way she wasn’t high. ‘You’re funny. You like to be scared.’

‘No I don’t,’ argued Raza with some adimance.

‘But you like to be nice. It would offend us if you ran away.’ The last syllable crumbled into a half-second laugh. Turpentine smiled somehow even harder.

This was not good.


	34. Good Neighbours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raza finds himself navigating the tricky social waters of obligation.

It was a truly funny thing, to look over life and realise in the fleeting few moments of valid cognisance, that it was all too short and beautiful. Even the bad and traumatic made it hard to truly want to surrender the breath of life to the danger of the dark and silent. That breath of raw survival pounded and screamed in his mortal bones for yet another one too many within the last fourty-eight hours.

The girl named Melty smiled endearingly as Raza sat down in an empty plastic chair, outnumbered by women. Even more people in the background stared now, even forgoing their meals to watch events unfold. This was beyond peculiar.

Turpentine was hooked, if anything was to be said of her leaning forward body posture and her hand as a chin rest. ‘So how did you deal with the pirates?’

Raza rubbed his face in thought. ‘I don’t know what you want from me.’

‘You might never know,’ countered the weirdest girl, in her hissy breath.

Melty pressed the matter. ‘I heard you blew up a volcano. Is that true?’

_Okay, fine. You win. _ ‘Yeah, it was a team effort. We were in danger, so we headed near to shore and blew up a lava reservoir. I guess it worked.’

Melty grinned triumphantly. ‘You’re so clever.’

_Don’t thank her, just change the subject. _ There was soup on its way now, too. Leaving would be rude. ‘I’m just doing what I’m told.’ That sounded general enough. ‘So what team are you in?’

‘Team Ionic Sky,’ said Melty. ‘What about you? You’re in Vailguard, right?’

She already knew. That was interesting. ‘Yeah.’ What was he going to do, say no?’

A paper bowl of not-papery soup appeared in front of the young man, along with a box of juice and a plastic spoon on a napkin. ‘Here you go, Raza! Be careful, it’s hot.’ Asparagus stood behind his chair, watching over his shoulder, for some reason.

Now what could he do? They’d paid for a meal for him. What did they want? ‘Uh, thank you,’ Raza uttered, not hiding the awkward air.

Asparagus leaned in anxiously. ‘Is it okay? Do you want something else? I can get you steak or something if you like.’ _ Why? _

‘It looks good,’ replied the boy. Enough was enough. ‘Look, why are you so interested in me?’ It was time to face the music.

Turpentine leaned in. Her long, messy locks almost dipped themselves in his soup. ‘Do you know who we are?’

‘I- I’m pretty sure we’ve established I don’t.’ Now he was frustrated. ‘I don’t have any good gems on me, if that’s what you want. I’m sorry.’

It made it worse that they chose in response to all laugh in unison. Melty took the field. ‘We don’t want anything from you, Raza.’

_ Really? _ ‘I’m not feeling that. You’re acting like you’re planning to hustle me or knock me out and ravage me.’

Skilled hands surreptitiously slid across Raza’s tense shoulders and began to rub. Asparagus kneaded all along his neck and back. ‘We don’t want to hurt you, Raza. You’re new.’

‘Please… don’t touch me. I feel sick.’

His request was granted. ‘Okay. Can I get you anything?’ Asparagus was persistent.

‘No, thank you. You got me enough.’

Asparagus loomed. ‘You’re not eating. You don’t like it.’

‘It’s food from a stranger that I didn’t see prepared, and you’re acting like you have some big, strange plans for me, and I’m not feeling it.’ This led to a stressed sigh. ‘Just… get to the point, okay? Please. What do you want? _ Who are you _ and what do you want? Just tell me.’ He had no more strength to argue.

A face full of severe acne smiled wide. ‘We just want to get to know you.’

‘In what way?’ He needed clarification.

Turpentine turned her smile on the others. ‘He’s a smart cookie.’

Melty grabbed the verbal steering wheel. ‘We went about this all wrong. We didn’t mean to offend you, we’re just curious.’ At least her soft, gentle voice _ seemed _ sincere.

‘They call us the Psychic Sisters,’ hissed Turpentine. ‘They say we predict the future.’

_What? _ Raza just sat, desperate to form a bigger picture out of the three puzzle pieces and a plastic spoon given to him. Nothing fit. ‘Go on.’

Of all the possible replies that could have been offered, the greasy girl chose the worst. She shrugged. ‘Not much to say about it.’

This needed to be confronted with diplomacy. ‘Are you called that for any particular reason?’ The soup was going to get cold. At this point his stomach won over. _ Screw it. _ Raza started to eat.

All three girls relaxed into their seats with a unified smile.

The tall one fielded this with some reluctance. ‘Well, we like to meet interesting people.’ _ Weirdos? _ Asparagus began explaining with her hands, frantically trying to find some means of salvaging a valid talking point from this burning building of a conversation. ‘Just fun people, you know.’

‘Losers?’ Raza pitched out that theory without a second of hesitation. He was well aware of what he was.

‘We just want to be nice,’ pleaded Melty.

‘Okay.’ They had bought him food, and he was still starving. He hadn’t been knocked out or incapacitated yet, but he was only a few spoonfuls in. The juice was next. It was far better than the water. Again, there was no suspicious aftertaste. It all seemed on the up and up. ‘So why are people laughing at me?’

‘Ignore them,’ instructed Asparagus. Those names, they were just too silly.

‘Why are they laughing at me, or us?’ Raza pressed the matter like a hot iron.

Turpentine turned turncoat to the unspoken oath of silence. ‘They think you’re a loser.’

That was nothing new. ‘Any specific reason?’

Both the reasonably logical girls cringed. Melty shrugged. ‘Well, I mean, we’re weird. They might be laughing at us.’

Once more, the messy one betrayed the silence. ‘We collect people.’ That weird grin of hers was… lingering. Despite a discreet kick from each of her peers, she kept talking, albeit with a scowl. ‘He’ll find out anyway.’ Turpentine’s attention returned to the boy. ‘People think you’re doomed.’

He had to ask. ‘What does that have to do with you? Are you… getting to know me so you can watch me fall?’

The other two hesitantly shook their heads. Turpentine nodded. Her smirk was back. ‘Yes,’ said the greasy one. Seeing as the rest of the trio sighed back into their seats in exasperation and dodged eye contact, Turpentine must have been right.

‘I mean, you’re apparently not wrong.’ Raza owed them that. ‘I’ve been here two days and I’m already getting death threats.’

Melty at least played nice. ‘I’m sorry.’ She actually sounded compassionate, tugging remorsefully at her sweater.

Asparagus played a similar tune. ‘Sorry.’

The third only chuckled.

Raza shrugged it off. ‘It’s not like I’m shocked. I mean, plus you’ve already been nicer than most people I’ve met. You’re nicer to me than half my team.’

That caught their attention. Asparagus leaned forward, fascinated. ‘What do you mean?’ Hints of a smirk toyed with her grimace.

‘Our captain and his girlfriend are just nasty. No mercy or compassion. The man put a gun to my face the moment I woke up out of stasis.’

All three exchanged an intrigued smile. ‘What did you do?’ It didn’t really matter anymore who asked. They were a unit of onlookers.

They bought him soup. His time was paid. ‘I fell out and threw up all over the floor.’ That brought a giggle from the girls. ‘Then I got yelled at for not knowing my registration number or… even my skin colour.’

‘_What,_’ hissed Turpentine, wholly engrossed.

‘I didn’t remember anything when I woke up. Total amnesia. I mean, I assume it’s amnesia and not just me having nothing to remember.’

Asparagus let her curiosity win over. ‘People say you tried to make friends with your rivals. Is that true?’ Eager eyes goaded for a juicy tale.

Why was he even telling them all of this? ‘I have a feeling you already know, but yeah. I did- or I tried. I got laughed at a lot, then Valius tried to beat me up.’

That elicited some girly laughter from the ominous trio. ‘_I can’t believe you really did that._’

Raza nodded. ‘You were there when it happened, weren’t you?’ Another giddy giggle was his reward in this trying time. They just wanted to collect him like some sort of car crash photograph. They were doom groupies. When nobody said a thing, he added to his contribution to the conversation. ‘So could I ask you some things?’

‘Like what?’, Melty replied. All three still revelled in the knowledge they had recently gleaned.

‘Is there anything fun to do around here?’ He had a day off to explore, if Karya had truly swayed her boyfriend. He needed to do something. Bethany was right, he had no life. Maybe there were clubs or something for meeting a girl that wouldn’t result in him getting his skull caved in.

All three of the interrogators convened for a joint meeting. Ideas were tossed around like a volleyball. Eventually they leaned back in toward the boy. ‘Do you like movies?’

That was funny. From her tone, it was as if he had enough life experience to accurately confirm that posited theory of hers. How the tables had cruelly spun into a hard, harsh 180 fuelled by irony and mutually-affirmed doom. Now he somehow came off in the aside of life as the wisened one. The corporeal realm of molecular happenstance conspired into being by neuronal feedback was indeed a twisted joyride into decadence of the mind.

‘I guess I should probably find out one of these days,’ offered Raza in response. This subsequently made the trio giggle and exchange a secret whisper.

‘Do you know anything else you like?’, asked Asparagus. She seemed truly interested. Maybe she was.

Raza had to seriously think on that one. What did he like, apart from girls?

Melty butted in. ‘Do you like sports? You could try badminton or wall ball or something. Whatever it’s called, where you hit the ball and it… bounces off the… wall, and… yeah.’ He could.

Asparagus stood up excitedly. ‘Do you want to?’

The young man shrugged. ‘I guess I could try, yeah.’

Behind a layer of acne, Turpentine cracked a toothy grin. ‘It’s a date.’


	35. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zericon's bases are big places, with lots of faces all in the good graces of the company. Now Raza follows the traces of consumerism back to the shops, where he displaces his sense of shame and laces up his man-courage.

What had he just agreed to? What had he done? Had those girls just coerced him into a four-way date? What was going on? ‘Uh, what do you mean by date?’, asked Raza, calmly suppressing the paranoia building like a skyscraper in his brain.

The girls looked at each other, then him. ‘What do _you_ mean by a date?’, asked Melty.

Raza swayed his head to the side a little, feigning physical thought. ‘Well, is it just an arranged outing among friends or am I being set up on a romantic interlude?’

The blemished one laughed at that. ‘_Romantic interlude,_’ Turpentine whispered.

Melty leaned in conspiratorially. The words ‘_yeah, I know, I love the way he talks_’ reinforced certain suspicions.

Both the clean-faced ones nudged each other and whispered a little more. Then Asparagus piped up. ‘I mean, it _ can _ be a date, like… a romantic one.’

Was this what he asked for. They’d bought him soup and juice, how far was he obligated to go with these girls? The sudden blush across Turpentine’s face boded ill for his chances.

‘I’m down for that,’ said Turpentine.

Melty chimed in. ‘I mean, we agreed to show him around anyway.’

All three of them, together, they were all hinting at some sort of weird date thing? Raza toyed with the last few spoonfuls of soup. Surelle had better not see this and get any wrong ideas. She likely wasn’t interested anyway, but a man had to hope. What did he know, though? He’d been alive for two days. For all he knew, Surelle had a boyfriend. Actually, she probably did. Usually, nobody that cute was single unless she had some severe damage under the roof. He didn’t even know, honestly. She was still a complete stranger.

‘Okay. I just wanted to clarify,’ Raza replied after a moment to dwell on his life choices. Three girls, what was this place? Why did this still seem like a trap? There was no way this was real. ‘So uh, when were you thinking for this… date?’

The coven convened for a brief debate on the topic. ‘In half an hour? At the sports plaza.’

‘_Wear something sexy,_’ Turpentine muttered bashfully.

Somewhere in the midst of a long sleeve and a shy mouth, a comment was overheard from Asparagus about a speedo.

All of that could be taken in stride, even the insinuated request for partial nudity. Why not have a laugh? It was his first real day in the world, apart from work. This was free time now, until some malevolent higher power of management said otherwise and dropped the hammer on him for charges of sheer ignorance. On that subject, inappropriate swimwear paled in comparison to the ten ton weight of the more serious matter figuratively perching on his shoulder.

‘Okay,’ Raza said as the girls all got up and began to leave. ‘I just have a problem with uh… where’s the sports plaza?’

They once again giggled amusedly and watched with fascination. Melty bit her lip in playful fashion, holding back a statement to forever remain a mystery. They talked again in secret, and the one known as Melty pulled a take-two. ‘Okay, so if you go downstairs and look like you’re just walking into the building, you take a left through the doors on the far wall. Follow the signs after that.’

‘Okay, cool. Thank you.’ Raza nodded and left them to it. ‘See you soon.’ The dark-skinned young man hesitantly finished his lunch and sighed into his hands… his dirty hands. One of them still had a glove on it. Was this thing now his life? Was he stuck with it? It could come off, obviously, but if he had to wear that thing every day for the rest of his life, his hand was going to forever smell like a used bandage. It already kind of did. Was there a cleaning service here? That would have been good to ask. Did he have a room? Was there a place to store his things? He could theoretically buy furniture, so it was a good bet he had somewhere to stay.

Would it be a group room or would he have a bedroom? Was it barracks, was he with an assorted lot and private rooms had to be earned? Did his group have their own little space to decorate? It was hard to tell. What would Zericon decide? Food wasn’t free, why would lodgings be? He probably had to save up and rent a bedroom or an apartment. That would cost money- or credits. What would he do if that was the case? Would he have to be homeless? It… was an option to try and hop from bed to bed with different girls, maybe. It sounded wrong, but so did Zericon on the whole. Maybe that was just life. Was this how it began? Was he really about to whore himself out for a place to stay? And where was he supposed to get clothes? He was broke, they knew it. That had to be a joke on their part.

There was nothing more to be achieved by loitering around in public. The food court was getting packed at this point, and the last thing he needed was more people preying in him. There were undoubtedly some pecking order rules regarding the treatment of fresh meat like himself. Someone was eventually bound to try and put him in his place.

He had so much time, and so little to do. That meant there was aimless meandering in his imminent future. There were plenty of outlets to window shop at. Not that far across the second floor walkway, Raza soon found himself in what appeared to be a little gift shop. He had to stop and check it out. It was only a little booth, like the shady foods stall he had bought lunch from, but it had a lot more to its name by a glance alone. Plushies of various obscure figures lined its shelves. Most at a guess appeared to be gem creatures, reimagined as stuffed animals. There was even a set of dire kuri plushies in all their forms. Apparently the space version had a miniature black hole in the curled tip of its tail. The aero one had little wings, too, that was cute. If anything, it was good casual research.

Who was buying these, though? There were no civilians on the base whatsoever. Were these workplace gifts? Was this like a hospital gift shop, where the staff bought most of the things? Come to think of it, who made all of this stuff? Did it get imported, or did Zericon have a factory dedicated to making toys? There were all sorts of bits and bobs, too, not just stuffies. Where were they getting or manufacturing entire lines of posters, hoodies, and stylised candy?

The girl behind the counter sat up in her folding chair and took notice. Blue eyes twinkled beneath a pair of glasses when she smiled. ‘Hey, looking for something for your girlfriend?’

Raza generated an awkward laugh. ‘Heh, if only.’

She shrugged at that. ‘You’ll find someone. Just looking, or did you have something specific in mind?’ Short teal locks took a masculine tomboy style over fair peachy skin. ‘We just got a whole line of Guardian Z merch in if you’re into that kind of thing.’

Raza pursed his lips and pretended to browse with his eyes. She was cute. A grey halter top and jean shorts left little to the imagination… and there he went again, obsessing over women. This was going to be trouble. He snapped his attention back into the here and now. ‘Uh, to be honest, I’m pretty out of date on all of this stuff. I don’t want to waste your time if you’re looking to make a sale. I’m pretty lost- two days back in service, just out of stasis.’

The saleswoman nodded at this, unphased. ‘Oh, okay.’ She switched her internal settings into work mode. ‘So over here we have all our candy.’ Examples were front and centre on the back of the counter, all in branded boxes and pretty bags. ‘To your left, we’ve got a bunch of collectables from different shows and books, like Guardian Z, Night Nighters, Zhango Dessaro, and my favourite, Warrior Girl Kaylar. There’s some tits in it, but the action scenes are _ so _ awesome. She kicks so much ass.’ The woman had transcended into full geek mode. Her smile was infectious.

‘That all sounds pretty cool.’ She made it sound cool. There was no ring on her finger, maybe she was single- he was doing it again. _ Focus. _ There was a mark on her arm, like the other salesperson. This girl too had a different letter on her arm than his. ‘So okay, silly question, I know, but I am… literally new here.’ She was going to mock him. ‘Um… so do different people in Zericon have different registration codes? Like, I see you have a P on yours. Mine is a Z. I know this sounds stupid, but I genuinely don’t know.’

Her winning smile faded. ‘Excuse me?’ She stood up, looking Raza over in full detail. ‘Are you even Zericon?’ Her hand reached for something unseen under the counter.

_ Crap. Nice move. _ ‘Yeah, I am.’ The long-haired boy desperately scrambled to grab his ID and drop it down on said counter. For extra measures, he rolled down his sleeve and revealed his tag. ‘They say I have sleep amnesia.’

His registration card was quickly snapped up and scrutinised, then studied with serious determination. Eyes like lasers scanned for any possible flaw in his story. Then she tossed it back down and pulled up a touch screen from somewhere out of sight. ‘I’ve never heard of that.’ Her fingers began typing.

Raza stood there uselessly. ‘Neither had I.’

Maybe three minutes passed as she held him up to check her mysterious sources behind that screen. ‘Okay then. I… _ guess _ it can happen, theoretically.’ Calm eyes were now floored. ‘I’ve never heard of that, ever. That’s so weird.’ The clerk looked him over like a piece of imperfect art.

‘Yeah. Welcome to my life.’

At last she gave in. ‘Okay, yeah. You have a Z for Zericon. It just means you’re a field agent. You know that, right?’

‘That much, yeah.’ Raza nodded at this.

She revealed her arm to him. **P-351160** was her number, all in black bold print. ‘This stands for Personnel. We do all the sales and construction work, stuff like that. I got lucky, I landed a cushy job here instead of cleaning toilets or hard labour.’ An earnest little smile broke the gloom of emotional night. ‘I get to read comics all day and watch anime. It’s awesome.’

That made sense. ‘So I know agents get credits for turning in gems and doing missions. Do you get credits on commission?’

Her long, shapely face offered a nod. ‘Yeah, for the most. If I want to eat, I have to sell merchandise.’ The girl sighed and picked up a bag of candy. ‘Wanna buy something?’

_ Agh, the guilt. _ This was how she survived. ‘I would if I had any credits.’ That stung inside. He really sounded like a jerk, wasting her time. ‘I’ll have to come back after my team captain files his report. There’s some cool stuff here, though.’

Her defeated little look of exasperation was a punch in the stomach. ‘Yeah, okay. It’s cool.’

He couldn’t leave it like this. ‘So say I’m totally new and don’t know anything about any of these shows or comics or their storylines. If I got into one, what would you recommend?’

‘I don’t do credit,’ she warned.

This girl was funny. ‘I’m not asking you to,’ said he with a snicker. ‘I’m new and looking for _ anything _ to do with my spare time.’

That got her. ‘Okay.’ Her shoulders un-slumped. A finger drew to her mouth in thought. ‘So you don’t look like you’re into romance or hardcore fight scenes. Do you like more personal drama or action?’

Yet another good question had been lobbied at him. ‘Uh, I guess a bit of both?’

‘Do you like chicks with big tits?’ Her face was too serious.

What kind of a question was that? ‘Uh… I… that’s a good question.’ It was too warm in here.

That meddlesome cashier smiled and nodded knowingly. ‘Ah, yeah.’ Immediately a comic book was slapped down on the counter. A redhead in skimpy clothes was holding up a bloody katana and a severed head. ‘I gotta recommend Warrior Girl Kaylar. Other than that, probably My Pretty Heart or Princess Of Sin.’ Two more were slapped down. A comic with pink hair and hearts covering everything interesting behind the details of two naked girls hugging clashed pretty hardcore against another of what looked like a succubus girl with horns, wings, and a tail. ‘My Pretty Heart is full-on graphic lez romance with a solid plot and Princess Of Sin’s a bit less story-driven, but it’s got a lot of people having sex with monsters.’

If anyone saw him right now, he was dead. Raza bit his dry lips and took a breath. Instinct at its finest brought his hands up to cover his face, and his shame. One was far easier to accomplish than the other. The counter girl didn’t even smirk or laugh. ‘_Have- have you read these?_’, he asked bashfully.

‘Oh yeah, gotta know what I sell,’ she said nonchalantly. ‘I have a lot of time on my hands. I’ve read everything here.’ Now the girl smiled. ‘I get to read everything first, it’s the best.’ Her eyes saw right through him.

‘_I might have to come back and check some of those out sometime,_’ said Raza through a pair of cupped hands.

She’d made a new customer and she knew it. ‘When you do, start with Warrior Girl Kaylar. I’ll be here. If I’m not, there’s another girl that works here. Don’t be ashamed to ask for what you want, we’ve seen it all, man.’ She seemed pretty cool.

He had to. ‘Hey, uh, thanks for everything. I really appreciate the help. My name is Raza Kulan.’

She actually nodded back. ‘Eileen. Hey, come back anytime, maybe buy something next time.’ This was said with a smirk. ‘I gotta eat too, you know.’

It was worth a laugh. ‘I will. I owe you anyway. See you round, okay?’ He was baking alive in this uniform. She was so cool, and cute. _ Darn it. _ She might have been twenty-five, still within age range of his growing perversion. He walked away, but not before sparing a backward glance Eileen’s way, and then again.

It was too late to notice that he collided with a stranger until he was slammed into the wall.


End file.
